Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to
fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and
spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the
cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister,
spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the
flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a
cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury
trail on the floor which by now
had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated.
He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and
Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what
to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on
the stove, ( and he didn't know how the stove worked!).
Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of
mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg
carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up
this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting
his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big
crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd
wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a
terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming,
maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.
Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his
crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own
pajamas white and sticky in the process.

That's how God deals with us. We try to do something
good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage
gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can't
stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we
just stand there in tears because we can't think of
anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and
loves us and forgives us, even though some of our
mess gets all over Him.

But just because we might mess up, we can't stop
trying like Brandon to "make pancakes," for God or for
others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then
they'll be glad we tried.