Surprise: You really aren't the center of the Universe! I am...

Graysen.

Graysen is 5. 

She lives to play outside.

She thinks friends are the best.

She thinks that everything on this earth- the trees, the animals, the flowers, the weather, the people- were put here to serve her.

She's learning how to be a servant to others, but let's just say...she's not a natural.

I've seen lots of improvement, but more often than not, I still find her cat-fighting on the playground over who gets to be the BEST princess. (That would be Rapunzel...in case you were wondering.)

Of course, we train up our children, so if you asked her why God created her, she would say:  "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever", but down in the dark, spiderwebby heart of my beautiful child, she would think...

I was created so that everyone around me could take play with me. Or take care of me. Or laugh at me. Or love me. Or be inspired by me. Or lavish attention on me...

I'm not sure if this (specific sin) is a weakness in her personality, or a hereditary trait, or perhaps a monster that we created in her.

You know that verse in the Bible about the sins of the fathers being passed down from

I do think that this is a problem that we (women) all struggle with. And yes, it is a problem.

Don't we believe that our husbands live solely to die to self and meet all of our emotional needs and desires?

Don't we feel shocked and surprised when friends betray us or neglect us? How could they? Don't they know, I'm me???

Don't we get mad at the poor waiter at the Mexican Restaurant when he takes too long to bring our chips? Doesn't he know, I'm out of chips?!

Aren't we sometimes frustrated when we hear other people talk about their problems? Don't they know what I'm going through??

We still think that the universe spins around us. We never grew out of it. We're still fighting to be the BEST princess on the playground.

Only now, we've had lots of practice...

But hopefully we've had lots of practice killing that sin as well.

And because the Truth has been revealed to me, I can instruct and discipline Graysen for this behavior- guiding her away from those dark, spiderwebby places, and into the light.  

And because I share her nature, I can also sympathize.

Graysen, I know this temptation well!  I remember what it felt like to think that I was the center of all the universe.

Five minutes ago.

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