A Life Lesson in JELL-O
During a long trip in the car over the Thanksgiving holiday, Courtney and I were talking about our girls. We were amazed at all the ways God uses our children to teach us little life lessons. One such lesson occurred the day we first brought Merritt home from the hospital.

With a new baby in the house, Logann, of course, wanted to help out and show how she was the Big Sister!! If you don’t know by now, she is a very hands-on “helper!” During this first full day at home with our new family, Courtney went to make lunch for Logann, so she put Baby Merritt in her swing. While Courtney was in the kitchen she heard Logann say, “Uh oh!!!” Courtney came running in to find Logann standing by the swing with a spoon in one hand and an empty Jell-o carton in the other. The baby had orange jello smudged on her cheek and smears of Jell-o running down her arms, clothes, and swing. In her calmest, motherly voice Courtney asked, “What did you do?” Logann’s simple reply, “I thought she might be hungry.”

Being new to the “Big Sister” scene, Logann thought she was giving Merritt something she needed. After a little talk, Logann now understands that babies only NEED milk. Jell-o will come much later!

Sometimes we act in this same manner. We think we NEED certain things or we think God needs to give us what we want. Just like Courtney tried to protect Merritt from Logann feeding her what she didn’t need, God protects us, even when it means keeping us away from the things we (or others) think we need. Ask Him what you need! God always gives us what is beneficial for us at every stage in our lives!

PS-Day 2 with Baby Merritt: Logann thought she might LIKE some gum. But this time, she just placed the package on the swing instead of aiming for her mouth. Progress is one small step at a time!