"Mom, can you get me more water and ice in my cup?"
"Sure, sweetie, where's your cup?" (the dreaded question)
"I don't know." (the feared response)
"Where did you have it last?" (somewhat hopeful)
"I don't know." (Of course not. Sigh.)
"Has anyone seen L's cup?" (usually not)
And the hunt is on.
Am I the only one traipsing all over the house looking for spill-proof sippy cups every day?
Often, we give up and start a new one, in a new color, and just make a mental note that if the purple one shows up, it goes straight to the sink.
Sometimes they show up weeks later -- which is really nasty!
And then there are the moments I notice her drinking from the wrong color cup, and I have to quickly try to recall how long THAT one has been missing as I call out, "No! That cup's old!"
It wouldn't be so bad if it were only one child. But, 5 yo M still takes a sippy cup to bed, and now Baby G has started using cups, too. Of course, 3 yo L thinks every sippy cup is hers, and will sample them all.
And then there is the milk cup, water cup, and lemonade cup situation ...
Surely I'm not the only one.
And yet, every time I help them track down their cups, I'm giving a sip of water to the little ones. If I do it patiently and lovingly, I'm doing it for Jesus.
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " Matthew 26:40
"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 'Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!' " Philippians 2:3-8
"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1
Now, thankfully, finding a lost sippy cup isn't the same as being obedient to death on a cross ... but it does remind me that if Christ humbled himself for me, I can humble myself and serve my family with love, patience, and joy!
Trusting in Him,
April
