changed by His goodness

the ponder of my heart today is on God's goodness. Scripture says that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). i'm finding myself irritated and frustrated at the monotony of every day living in a home of seven people. there is constant clutter to pick up and cleaning to do. for the most part, i can excuse it knowing that i don't live in a showroom, i live in a home with a family. truly the experiences of their lives are hugely evident. but, there has to be some sort of guidelines of picking up after ourselves or it would not be a home but a junk yard. telling children to pick up their stuff and put it where it belongs so many times a day would not be so difficult if they actually did it when you told them to. but, it is the telling them so many times to do the same thing that eventually wears on my patience and steals my peace. such outright disobedience because what i am asking them to do does not fit into their time schedule or they just don't want to have to do it makes me feel as if i have a right to be frustrated. wouldn't anyone be?

then, i remember my own disobedience and putting God off on some issues of my own. how many times do i feel the unction of the Spirit of God within me to trust Him to empower me to bring grace and righteousness into areas of my own life that are not making my life easier or bringing him glory. and yet, He never tires of me, gets irritated or frustrated with me. His mercies never fail me and are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22, 23). and, His patience never runs dry. when i feel his love and experience His kindness toward me, it moves my heart to repentance and creates in me a desire to do the very things that He is urging me to do because His goodness changes my heart (Phillipians 2:13). as i receive his acts of goodness into my heart to heart relationship with Him, i find myself empowered by His grace to respond to my own children in a vast array of wisdom and patience that i could not have conjured up on my own. He is changing me from the inside out as i experience all that He is in my life. as i receive mercy, i am empowered to be merciful. as i experience the kindness and patience of God toward me, i am empowered to extend kindness and patience. i am overwhelmed by His goodness and how the revelation of it makes my life easier, being frustrated and irritated and standing in my right to be so, is not at all enjoyable, and empowers me to show it to others, including my children.