Character Builders
If you’ve even driven in California traffic then you probably know how frustrating it can be at times. I find myself most aggravated when I’m trying to merge onto the freeway and a car won’t let me in. Never fails to bring the ranter out in me. Do these people not know the rules of the road, which clearly state to yield to those merging into traffic?
Grrr….
Well, I had one of those days last week and my daughter was in the car with me. I got particularly vocal on this one and even punched my horn. That car just wouldn’t let me over and I was about to get forced to exit!
The only way in is to slow down and let the car pass me, which makes me even more nervous because merging in too slow is dangerous. Never-the-less, I finally get onto the freeway.
Our conversation about it went something like this:
“I hate it when people do that!” I glance over at my daughter, who’s 17 and sitting there with a rather serene smile on her face. Okay, what gives? Does she not see how unfair that was?
My daughter speaks. “Mom, I think God let’s that happen to you on purpose so you’ll learn to handle it better.”
Ouch… “Really? You think so?”
“Yeah, I do. I’ve noticed that lately. For me it’s people. God puts difficult people in my life a lot so I have to learn to deal with them better. I’m choosing to see it that way now.”
Um…wow…just 17, right? I told my daughter I believed she was absolutely right. God does allow those things that we struggle with to come into our lives a lot to bring growth. They’re character builders and God is most definitely interested in building our character.
This experience brought me to more reflection too. If you have adult or nearly grown children you may have noticed that they wind up facing challenges you may have tried to help them grasp, yet they just didn’t seem to get it.
They both have come to me with frustrations in dealing with a person or situation that was exactly what I had tried to deal with them. They now stood in my shoes whether they realized it or not. And I didn’t even have to say a thing. This just showed me how faithful God is and that he cares about our children’s character as much if not more than we do.
What an amazing circle life can be. Whether adult or child, God will use whatever He needs to build our character. He’s much more concerned about who we are than what we do for Him.
Deep food for thought…what ways do you see God trying to build your character?
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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Dineen, you are so right. It is those difficult moments, the ones that seem to frustrate us, that are the very times that if we let Him, God will mold and teach us. Such great wisdom of a 17 year old. I have a 15 year old like that, whom never seems to amaze me with her astounding wisdom. Many times her godly words set me back on the right path. lol -blessings.
Dienne,
Yes! This is a perfect example of what (Romans 8:28 and Phil 1:6) talk about how God continues to work in our lives everyday to change us into the image of his Son…its a continual process and won’t be completed until it is finnally finished on the day Christ Jesus returns. The result of His “working on us” are all the various circumstances that we are faced with each day to refine (improve) us.
What powerful words for your 17 year old daughter. Yes, God puts situations and people in our lives so that we learn to deal with them from His point of view.
how faithful God is and that he cares about our children’s character as much if not more than we do…
Amen. What a great post Dineen…. Love that young lady. Hugs.