I took my 16-month-old granddaughter to see her great aunt and uncle’s farm today.  She had a blast.  She squealed when she saw the cows, pointed to them, giggled and yelled, “Puppy!”  I told her, “Those are cows.  Say  ‘Cow’.”  She repeated it to me, “Cow.”

Then she pointed to them again, giggled and yelled, “Puppy!”  Again I said, “Cow.”  She said, “Cow.”  She pointed to them  and yelled, “Puppy!” again.   She didn’t understand but she tried her best.

Next we went to see the goat.  When she saw it, her eyes got huge.  She had never seen a goat before.  She pointed to the goat, touched it’s nose, and said, “Puppy”.  Of course, I said, “This is a goat.  Say, ‘Goat’.”  She whispered, “Goat”.  Then as she petted the goat again, she giggled and said, “Puppy”.  She was trying, but still didn’t understand.

About that time, the dog came running up.  When she saw the dog, she pointed to it, reached for it and hollered, “Puppy!”  Now she knows what a puppy is.  She has one at home.  She kept calling the dog Puppy, and this time she was right.

She says “Cow” all the time, but when she saw a cow, she didn’t know what it was.  And she had never seen a goat.  But she knew what a puppy was.  At her young age, she has limited understanding.

I love that little girl so much and I marveled at how she tried.  I drew pleasure from seeing her learn and grow.  But she needed correction and direction in a gentle way to do this.  When she was wrong, I helped her to try to understand.  I didn’t get mad or upset.  I just accepted and loved her for who she is and where she is at this time in her life.

That is how God sees us.  He is not condemning.  He loves us where we are at, and walks beside us as we mature in his Spirit.  He draws pleasure in seeing us learn and grow spiritually.

During our lives, we make many choices.  Many of our choices are not good decisions.  But God doesn’t get mad at us.  He just loves us and accepts us for where we are in our spiritual walk.  He gently uses our mistakes to teach us as we live with the results of our decisions.  Through this and other life issues, He helps us grow and mature in his Spirit.

A mother understands that a baby has to grow and learn, and she loves the child at each stage of its life, no matter what.  Our Heavenly Father loves us the same way.  He loves us and walks with us as we grow and learn in our spiritual walk with Him.