Foolish is as foolish does

There is nothing that drives me to anger more than foolishness. I see it all around me.

Take for instance this morning. I gave my dear daughter (age 3 1/2) a marker and specifically told her, "Do not get this marker on your clothes." In five seconds flat, I noticed she had gotten unwashable blue marker on her white shirt.

"This IS ridiculous!", I shouted. "Didn't I JUST tell you to not mark on yourself? That is foolishness! You have RUINED that shirt!" On and on and on...

Big eyes stare back at me.

Did I fail to mention that she was using the marker to color in her morning devotion book as we were studying Matthew 22:37-39?

37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

Talk about foolishness- I'm the biggest fool of all. Why would a shirt be more important than loving my daughter (who is as close as a neighbor as one can be) as we read God's word together? Why would I give a 3 1/2 year old a marker that she isn't mature enough for anyway?

Because I am a fool. Proverbs 14:16 states:

A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

Yup, that pretty much says it. Hotheaded and reckless. What good is my faith if I'm so angry and reckless with my words and attitudes that I harm those living under my very roof?

I told you. Foolishness is all around me. Worse yet, it is IN me.

Thankfully, grace is around me as well. And grace trumps foolishness. Every time. As I apologize for my outburst and my attitude and ask for forgiveness, my three year old wants to know if she can help clean up the mess on her shirt. We talked about messes- marker messes and the messes words create. Another day, another lesson, another chance.