April 13

Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

April 13

Read Romans 10 – 11

I am reminded repeatedly why children often lead us. Here are some encounters I’ve had with kids lately.

Last week a kid pitched a total fit in front of me in the grocery check-out line. It was nap time and this kid knew it – well, he knew he was miserable. Perhaps he didn’t know quite yet that a nap was what would restore him. But he knew he needed something. His crying and stomping and sniffling and head banging were all very effective attempts to get his mother to set aside her agenda and take him home.

A recent visit with my nieces and nephews found me in my happy place – surrounded by three loving kids who just knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that their Aunt wanted to hear every single detail of their lives. I heard about mucking out a horse stall, a detailed account of a week long field trip, the latest school gossip, and my third grade nephew’s decision to alter “career paths” (yes, he said that).

A four year old walked up to me at the beginning of our celebration time in church and told me how really mad he was that his daddy called him stupid. He may have only been four, but even he knew that was totally uncool – and wrong.

Kids get it. They get that they are special and worthy of an attentive ear and a compassionate response. They have no doubt that being the center of attention is their due. Of course, if one gets too carried away with the center of attention notion, that can be a problem. But I think a larger problem is when we begin to believe that it is never ok to tell the truth about how we’re feeling or when we come to believe that we don’t deserve the opportunity to be heard by an attentive and compassionate ear.

So what about you? Do you know when you’re too tired, too hungry, or too stressed? Do you know what you need when that happens, and do you take appropriate action? Part of an effective step four involves learning to see ourselves more clearly. Start looking!

Thought for today: Take a few minutes to list times when you have an inaccurate sense of self. Feeling inadequate, “less than,” “better than,” etc. are all indicators that we’re not seeing ourselves through God-vision goggles. Code words: isolating from others, being either too aggressive or non-assertive, fearing failure, appearing inadequate, or denying any wrong doing, negative self-image or inflated self-image.
I don’t see myself as God does when ____________ because ___________. This affects _______________________________________________________. This activates _________________. This makes me feel ________________.

Thought for tomorrow:

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 NIV

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4 NIV

April 13
Teresa McBean