are we listening?

i just spotted a smear of grape jelly on my desk, which means that one of my little ones was eating, probably what was jelly toast, at my desk:) ah to be a kid again, in one ear and out the other.....

nowadays we can't afford to let information slip our minds. as adults we are called to be more responsible than that... but what happens when your brain doesn't work anymore.... like mine? i forget things all the time. you need something from the grocery store, so go write it down. but i'm nice and comfy on this chair right now, i won't forget, i'll write it down later. do you remember? hardly ever.... don't forget to bless and lock up the house before bed. what do you do? you usually don't remember until you are nice and cozy in bed. don't you dare forget your used plastic and paper bags for shopping at aldi's! almost every time it's the same thing: i pull into the parking lot at aldi's, make a fist, pound the wheel, and scream "son of a gun!" that's exactly what happens EVERY TIME i forget my bags. most of the time lying in bed i can't even remember what i did that day to perform a proper examination of conscience.
ah, ok. this is where the light bulb goes off. i suppose these are all good reminders of humility. we're only human and need to rely on God's constant support and grace. we need to cooperate. we're certainly not perfect, and this is very apparent in the way things so easily slip our minds (wait, when was the last time you got a bath? didn't you already eat supper? where did my cigarette go? did i put it out? or did i even light one up at all?) we are teeny weeny, and God is so big. so many times He has sent my angel to wake me up if i haven't set the alarm. i'm sure He even sends me reminders so that i don't forget those bags before i leave for aldi's. but am i listening? are WE listening? probably not as much as we should be. we must be humble and realize we can't do everything on our own. we can't do ANYTHING on our own, if you think about it. i wouldn't even be existing right now if it wasn't for the Big Man upstairs. we must constantly continue to cooperate with God's goodness. if we are not cooperating, we are not open to receive. yes, we are only human, but if we always used that excuse how would we ever become saints? in other words, yes we are only human, but are we cooperating? are we listening? are we meeting God half way? yes He can drop the graces right into our laps, but unless we pick them up and use them, there's no one to blame but ourselves. God does not shove His awesomeness down our throats. 'oh, but i'm only human, God understands.' umm, nuh uh. we're not only human, we are CHRISTIAN human, who God has set apart. He expects more from us. in the end God knows our intentions and how hard we tried to live our lives out for Him. cooperation is key. so, shhh, lets go listen.