A Bit Of Negotiating

When my children were young, there were always little surprises on special days.
Valentine’s Day presents were especially fun.
My husband would send a bouquet of flowers for me with five balloons attached.
He would choose a balloon for each child, knowing which one they would enjoy.

Those balloons were usually tied to the bottom of their bed.
With cathedral ceilings in areas, it was wise to keep the balloons in a room with low ceilings.
Getting the balloons on Valentine’s Day is something they remember fondly.
Now, it’s time for Grandma to think of the next generation.

Knowing what each grandchild likes, I set out to put a few special things in a gift bag.
My three-year-old granddaughter loves to wear dresses.
She especially loves to wear dresses with tutus.
I saw one particular dress that I wanted to get for her.

Rather than order it online, I went to the store on a Saturday while I ran errands.
I got to the toddler girl department and heard, Hi, Grandma!
It was the very granddaughter for whom I was going to buy the dress.
She was having special time with her mommy.

I hugged her and then hugged my daughter.
I noticed that my granddaughter was wearing another dress that I got her, with a tutu of course.
She walked over to a display.
Hanging above where she was standing was the very dress I came to the store to buy for her.

My daughter is raising her children not to ask for things when they are out shopping.
I remember doing the same thing many years ago.
My daughter and I telegraphed to each other, knowing exactly why I was in this department.
Grandma, my granddaughter said pointing, that dress is in my size.

It took every ounce of self control for my daughter and I not to laugh at that moment.
She technically didn’t ask for the dress; she simply pointed out that the dress was in her size.
When I gained inner composure, I pointed out that she was wearing the dress next to it.
That changed her focus a bit, as she twirled in her tutu dress right there in the store.

My daughter knew why I was there, so she casually walked away to get other things they needed.
I got the dress, that was indeed her size, and put it in my cart under some other things.
I was giggling to myself as I walked to the register.
My granddaughter didn’t ask; she simply informed me that the dress she liked was in her size.

This past weekend, two other granddaughters were here for a few days.
Their mommy and daddy went away for a long weekend with friends.
Their Valentine bags were here, since I knew I was going to see them.
They were so excited to go through all their little gifts.

The older one is four-years-old, while her sister will be two-years-old in May.
The younger one got a wonderful coloring book that had a wide pencil attached to the front.
The pencil was multi-colored, so one stroke easily made a rainbow.
The older one noticed it right away and mentioned how much she liked it.

I could see the wheels turning in her mind.
Grandma, that pencil might poke her in the eye.
I think I could use it, so Sissy (her cute name for her sister) won’t get hurt.
It was another moment of self control to stifle laughter that was just under the surface.

I looked at the older negotiator and agreed with her assessment.
I do think you will color safely with that pencil, I told her.
I smiled at her reasoning: keeping her sister safe while enjoying a very special pencil.
The little one loved coloring in her new coloring book but wanted to use toddler crayons instead.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11)

Do we negotiate with God?
Do we come to Him trying to calculate what we should ask and how we should ask?
Do we try to form our prayers in the best possible words to make sure we are heard?
Do we simply talk to God or do we rehearse what we want to say to get the best response?

God wants us to come to Him and lay our requests before Him.
God wants us to talk to Him with no holds barred.
God already knows what we are going to say, but He wants to hear us say it.
We don’t have to negotiate with God because He always does what is best for us.

Children are not the only ones who negotiate and frame their conversations in the best light.
We adults do it to each other and to God.
God wants our honest hearts as we come to Him.
No need to package our prayers beautifully and tie them with a bow.

Our honesty, vulnerability, truthfulness, and humility are pleasing to God.
We come with reverence and awe for who He is and an awareness of who we are before Him.
We come knowing that we are heard and seen by Him, and so very loved.
God the Father loves to hear the prayers of His children.