Asking for biscuits

Dear Aunt Alice,

Remember the children I told you about? The ones who visit us nearly every day? Yesterday (Feb 7, 2011), God used some of those very children to teach me a valuable lesson.

Most days, we have the same group of children stopping by our home, but yesterday we had a new group of boys. They were rather rowdy and Emma, my housemate, asked them to leave (they were playing on our back porch). Instead of obeying, they began requesting sweets and then, later, biscuits (Americans would call these cookies). Though we declined (since they had been asked to leave), they continued to ask, louder and louder, yelling, “We are your friends. We want biscuits. Please give us biscuits!!” and other similar phrases. They told us that they would leave only if we gave them biscuits. We continued to decline, feeling that giving biscuits would only encourage such rude behaviors.

After dark, when they had finally gone home, Emma and I sat discussing our day and I couldn’t help but think how many times I beg God for biscuits, telling Him that I’m His child and that I want biscuits, never bothering to ask what He desires, to consider what His plan is or whether or not biscuits are truly the best for me. My focus so often is on my own wants and desires.

As I pondered this, the most specific example that came to mind was my desire for a husband and the many prayers I’ve lifted up, begging God to send me a husband. While I don’t believe that it’s wrong to pray for a spouse, I do believe that there is a HUGE difference between asking Him, but choosing to accept His will either way and begging Him and being unwilling to accept another answer (remaining on the porch as the boys did). I’m choosing to accept His will, no matter what. Singleness with Christ is FAR better than anything without Him.

P.S. This is the only incident of such behavior that I’ve seen from the children. Most of them have been very well mannered and polite. To be honest – they have been much better behaved than many of the children I’ve worked with at home.