Do-over please!!

Do you ever just want to shout "DO-OVER!!!!" like a 3rd grader on the kickball field?  Why do we always think if we have a "do-over" we could get it right? I've often been the recipient of a "do-over" and you know what? I still end up doing the exact same thing as I did before and yes, I still tend to whine "do-over, pleeeeeeease!!!" I just want to get it right. I just want to be happy. I just want my family and friends to be happy. Do you know what I'm beginning to get? That God did not call me to be "happy", He called me to obedience.  He did not call me to live a life of "do-overs" but to live a life of trusting Him. He calls me to surrender. He calls me be faithful. To be obedient. To be joyful. To be content.

With all of these thoughts flooding my mind this morning, it reminded me of being in 3rd grade....remember playing kickball? I LOVED kickball. And lets be honest, I ROCKED the kickball field!  I was typically the captain, and though my friend was not the best, she was always my first pick, because even then, I realized that friendships go further than kickball games. Sadly, as we grow, we sometimes forget that.

Life, and lets call it like it is, Satan! has a way of making us cynical. He is the one that makes us scream "do-over", basically because he loves to watch us fail over and over again. He thrives on keeping us miserable.  I'm choosing today, to change that. I want to be like Paul in Philippians 4:11, "to be content whatever the circumstances."  And lets face it, looking at the weather forecast, this is going to be a big step.
I know that joyful, contented 3rd grader is deep inside here.  It was that same year that we had a poster contest that I actually won. I had drawn a picture of a little boy, kind of like a Tiny Tim from Dickens' book, he was dressed in shabby clothes and had a crutch, but also a big smile and the words of Philippians 4:11. Don't you think there is a reason why God calls us to come to Him as a child? Before Satan throws all of our fears, failures, and insecurities back in our face.  He seems to do that constantly to us grownups, doesn't he?
At least I feel them all the time. It can come from many sources, but basically the same message and always from him, "you're never going to be good enough".  Well, you know what Satan, you're right! I won't ever be good enough, but I'm so thankful God doesn't look at me the same way you do, He looks at me through the blood of Jesus Christ and there He sees me as clean and pure as the whitest snow. There He gives me grace and love and mercy and will prove Himself faithful time and time again.

So am I finished screaming "do-over"? Probably not. I know there are still going to be days that I will choose to do the wrong thing or say the wrong thing, but I am going to choose to be a bit more aware of that grace that covers me and just ask for His forgiveness and not a "do-over".  Failures often times make us much stronger and also teaches us the lesson of being content. Content in what we have. In a world where the grass is always greener, the sun always brighter, or the snow always deeper, may we all learn to be content where God has placed us right here. Right now. At this time. To shine our lights for Him. To shine our lights ON Him. May He get ALL the glory and instead of me yelling "do-over" again, I'm asking for His grace once again and then I'm going to get in my car, go to the store, and buy me some daisies to enjoy while I'm snowed in tomorrow so I can say boldly "for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."