Those were the exact words out of my preschooler’s mouth yesterday. And I thought, “How ironic…that’s exactly what I feel needs to happen sometimes – just blow it all up and start from scratch, God.”
But let me put it into context for you.
Earlier this year I purchased a plastic, inflatable world globe for my boy, thinking it would be used countless times over the year as a teaching tool of one sort or another. I envisioned us looking at the various countries and continents, me asking him which place he wanted to learn about next and then the two of us would venture over to the library, or the Internet (let’s be realistic), and discover new facts about that particular place.
Let’s just say, I should have had far less expectation on said purchase or I should have invested a LOT more than $5 and bought a super-huge, indestructible, free-standing globe that spins flawlessly and has cool things on it like bumpy mountains and glowing stars….
But since I didn’t do those things, I’m now left with a partially inflated piece of plastic earth that gets kicked around and sat on as the days and weeks go by. Any and all effort to convince my boy that we should actually LOOK at the thing gets squashed in seconds.
So when he came to me for the umpteenth time the other day, asking me to blow it up, I refused. “Never again” I believe were the words that flew out of my mouth and I was dead serious. That thing was going to the garbage the next time he went to bed, as far as I was concerned.
So last night, as Bubbs and Hubbs were getting ready to go on their nightly walk, Bubbs said “We can’t blow up the world” to Hubbs. And my first thought was Haiti and the tragedy they are experiencing in the same world that I’m living in; under the same sky that I can casually look at from my cozy, safe, clean home.
And I wished, for a second, that God would just end us all right then and there, and blow up the world. Blow it up to end all suffering and tragedies. Blow it up to remind everyone that He is God and we are not and His wrath is real.
However, and thankfully, so is His love. His love causes Him to wait. Patiently. Wait for us to seek Him. Wait for us to find Him. Wait for us to worship Him.
I’m thankful that He is a patient, just, AND loving God.
In the Land of Ridd 
You certainly have a very thoughtful way of looking at a spontaneous comment by Bubbs! I heard a sermon today that mentioned Haiti and the fact that the Earth will be in labor pains until Christ’s return — that earthquakes and famine are only the beginning of the tribulations that have to come before the world can be made new. Believe it or not, this wasn’t really a downer of a sermon — it is hopeful because of the promise of redemption at the end. Yes, we are blessed to be safe in our comfortable corners of the country, and it is certainly a double tragedy for so many people in a neglected part of the world to be so unbearably hurt. I also wonder how God could bear the suffering of the world for so long. But, we are human, and God’s patience gives us peace that passes all understanding. I think God can use the situation, as terrible as it is, to show loving kindness to those who survive and to those who have passed on. It is great to think that there are Christian organizations actively working to demonstrate Christ’s love right now in Haiti, and that local churches will be able to rebuild thanks to generosity here in the U.S. and around the world. The emphasis now is on the suffering and pain, but there will come a time when the wounds will start to heal. We just have to keep our minds focused on what Jesus would have us do.
Very good thoughts, Veedub. Thx for the insight. I do realize that the earth is in a constant state of dealing with sin – not just people but all of God’s creation. I do need to be reminded that God can be glorified in any situation, even a tragedy such as a destructive earthquake; that God has not forgotten those in Haiti or loved them less by allowing this to happen.
Great post Vicki and so true, so thankful God is loving, just and patient. Reading your posts I am thinking “wow, these are great posts Vicki is churning out – I can’t even form a coherent thought hardly these days!!! or if I do, it never seems to finally make it to a blog post.” And here you are with 2 kids, doing these great posts!! You inspire me. 🙂
Thx for the encouragement – you are years ahead of me of turning out truly wonderful posts – I’m learning from the best! You have a great way of being concise but your posts are still filled with depth & a better understanding of who you are. I feel I’m much too “wordy” still – working on it! 🙂