At my church we have an incredible hallway for our Kindergarten through 5th grade kids. There is a painted carousel. (Modeled after the historic one in the nearby city park.) There are surfboards, a train, and even a car crashing through the wall. All of this lights up and it is very exciting. But there is one thing that until today was the bane of my existence. We have a wall decoration called Sweet Retreat. It looks like an ice cream shop store front. There is a bench in front of it and either side is flanked with a candy pole. Flowers beside the bench round out the cozy motif. But there is one thing right in the middle of it that I absolutely can't stand.
There is an ice cream cone sticker in the middle of it all. It depicts a lovely double scoop chocolate sugar cone that is even decked out with a cherry on top. It looks great, good enough to even want to take a bite. Why then do I hate it, you ask? Because the sticker WILL NOT stay on the wall. For whatever reason the surface behind the sticker will not hold on to it. So my ritual, every time I walk down the hall, is to stick the ice cream cone back on the wall. I have thought about repainting the surface, or just gluing the thing to the wall, but there is a reason I haven't done that yet.
You see, the sticker only peels back a little at a time. It has never come all the way off. So rather than fixing it permanently, I (and the church staff) just smooth it out and stick it back to the wall. So in my estimation it is easier just to take the 5 seconds and smooth it out, than to take all of the necessary steps to fixing it permanently.
Until this morning, I really did hate that sticker. I really didn't like the time it took to constantly straighten it out. But then, as He so often does, God showed me something. I am the sticker. I am the one who is always peeling away from God. I am the one who continues to draw away, even though I know my purpose is to cling tightly. I am the one who God has to fix continually.
I am incredibly thankful for two things. That God in his wisdom doesn't glue me to His side. Because I think grace is a pretty cool thing. Messing up is terrible, but the grace that comes from it beats anything else. The second thing I am thankful for is that God just doesn't rip the sticker off completely. When I think of all of the times I have pulled away, God would be perfectly justified in saying, "That's it. I am done. I am just going to rip you off of Me and throw you away." But He doesn't. I am worth the time it takes to smooth out my wrinkles.
So now, as I realize I'm the sticker, I will continue to stick the sticker to the wall. I may even smile about it as I remember that I am just putting myself back where I should be.
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