I had an interesting situation with my youngest this morning.  She’s 3.  She’s a hoot.  She showed up EARLY this morning in my room.  She said, “Mommy, there’s something in my hair.”  I looked at baby girl and there was a 6 inch piece of rainbow striped duct tape stuck in her long blonde tresses.  For real.  I’m not making this up.  How on earth does rainbow duct tape get stuck to your head at 4:00am?  Seriously.  It wasn’t a pretty experience for me to get it out either.  I don’t exactly know how these things happen, but I came to this conclusion:  what little girls do in the dark when they are supposed to be sleeping will manifest itself in the light of day.  And there lies the lesson for us today.

When we are sneaking around in the dark it always leads to trouble.  The light of truth will eventually shine on our actions, words, thoughts or sins.  And the revelation can be a painful one.  And like my daughter, we usually need someone to help us get out of our mess.  So here I make my case for the kindness in getting caught……

IF I had walked in after she was put to bed and caught my daughter building a contraption with duct tape, it would have saved her the pain of having that tape extracted from her hair.  IF I had caught the kid who managed to sneak gum into their bed not long ago, BEFORE they fell asleep, then it would have saved the ugly haircut they had to get because they fell asleep with it in their mouth and rolled around with it on their pillow.  IF I had caught the kid who climbed into the van and then kicked it into gear BEFORE they did it, then I might still have a brick wall around my back porch (that actually happened).  IF I had caught the kid with the water hose before they flooded my memory garden I wouldn’t have had so much work to do.  Sometimes the painful revelation in the light is that we’ve hurt someone else.  We’ve caused someone pain.  We have caused someone work.  We’ve broken trust.

But I think of all the times I have caught a kid BEFORE something bad happened.  BEFORE they touched something hot.  BEFORE they climbed up a structure made of a stool, a baby stroller and a bicycle.  BEFORE they cut themselves.  BEFORE they fell.  BEFORE they got hurt.

Friends, if you have ever been caught doing something in the dark and it saved you from more trouble, more hurt, more pain, then thank God for the light of truth that shined on you.  IT IS GOD’S GIFT TO YOU.  Romans 2:4: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”  Getting caught is a kindness when you have been sinning against God.  Be grateful He loves you enough to pursue you, to catch you and give you a chance to repent.  How merciful He is.

Blessings!

Connie