How We Stuck Our Baby to the Floor: The Story of Grace

 

           

There she sat. Silent. Waiting. There I stood. Shocked.
I didn’t know what to do. How did this happen?

Everything began with a floor. My husband had been working on the bathroom floor. Something had gone wrong as he began to lay the tile.  He had to run to Lowe’s to get more supplies. I was cooking in the kitchen caught up in the whirlwind of the holidays. It had begun to get quiet in the house…way too quiet.

“Wait a minute.” I thought. “Where is Beth?” At this point, my daughter had just learned to walk. I could easily tell where she was every moment by the sound of her crashing, banging, experimenting and laughing. My heart hit panic mode. Something was wrong.

I looked and finally found her. She was sitting still. She was silent. She was stuck to the bathroom floor!

My husband had left glue all over the bathroom floor. He had shut the door. He had told Beth not to open it, but she did. She knew she was wrong, so she didn’t call out for help. She just sat there. Stuck and helpless, but determined not to get caught.

I quickly evaluated the situation. I could just undo her diaper, which was the only part that was stuck, and lift her right out. I thought it would be easy. I was wrong! I took her diaper off only to find that she was covered in poop. As I struggled to get her out of the diaper, she leaned back and stuck her hands to the floor. Trying to get baby hands off a glue covered floor was not an easy process. I was so concerned about getting her unstuck without her hands getting hurt that I didn’t realize I was getting stuck, too! Finally we both got off the floor. I called my husband to vent my frustration as he tried his best not to laugh. I’m pretty sure that was a day we will never forget!

I learned so many things from our “stuck to the floor” experience. The first thing was that I should always keep a close eye on my daughter!  I also  learned  how easy it is to get stuck and not want to ask for help. So many times when I get stuck in a situation, I try to pull myself out. It usually doesn’t work. In fact, I get more stuck than ever before!  I  may try to deny it.  “Maybe if I just sit here and be really quiet, people won’t notice the big problem I’m stuck in.” Pride is what keeps me stuck most of the time. It’s when I admit that I am helpless, that change begins. I expect punishment. After all, I crossed the line. I knew it was wrong. Instead, God does something totally unexpected. He stoops down into my struggles, my hurt, my hangups, and my pain. He isn’t afraid of my mess. He just sees his child. The child he loves.  He reaches out his hand, pulls me up and washes all the nastiness off me. This is grace.

 

There are so many other things God showed me from this silly event in my life. Tell me, friend, how did it speak to you?

 

 

 

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