Dirty Fingernails

I love this picture!  Well I kind of love this picture.  Ok, so I love everything about this picture except for one thing.  One thing that just happened to be the first thing I noticed when I downloaded it to my computer.  Matthew has dirt under his fingernails! 

Ok so he’s a boy.  And boys get dirt under their fingernails.  I’m sure girls do to, but it just seems like it should be more acceptable for boys.  But what does this Mama see?  I should have cleaned his hands better. 

On further inspection of the picture there is so much I love about it.  The baby fingers in complete focus in the foreground.  The fact that Matthew is out of focus in the background that gives the picture a sleepy feel.  The adorable little boy asleep on the carpet.  The beautiful new carpet he’s sleeping on.  The fact that it makes me sigh contentedly every time I look at it.  I totally thought that I would use it for a blog about peace, contentment, or feeling secure.  But as soon as I looked at it there they were.  Those dirty fingernails screaming at me about my weaknesses and faults as a mother. 

Sounds kind of crazy right?  What is it that makes us focus on our imperfections?  What is it that accuses us and makes our weaknesses seem so big?  Where does that accusing finger pointing at us come from?  Why can we look at a day where a million things went right and we focus on the one thing that went wrong? 

Well it happens when we decide not to think about what is true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.  If we are filling our minds with these things there will be no room for the accuser’s voice.  He has been overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony so listening to him is like listening to the coach of a country’s soccer team say that they won the world cup when they didn’t even qualify.  Let’s fill our minds with the goodness of God and send the accuser’s voice back where it came from!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or  praiseworthy - think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power of the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.  For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony . . .
Revelation 12:10-11