I Told You So.

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"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

Exodus 34:6, ESV

The pumpkin had been sitting and rotting in the elements behind my neighbor's house since October. Seeing as it's five months later, you can imagine the state that this St. Patrick's day gourd - formerly Halloween decoration - was in. My reaction - and the reaction of any living creature with a brain larger than a marble - was "ewwww!" It was a stringy, pulpy, green-fuzzy mess.

Then there's Squirrel, who looks at it and sees a 5-star meal (For the record, not even close to the worst thing he's tried to eat. That award still goes to the used tampon he found in the park that I had to rip out of his mouth. He owes me for that. Forever.).

Upon seeing the state of the pumpkin and Squirrel's interest, I commanded him to "leave it" ...which he promptly ignored and started to chow down. "It's going to make you sick!" I couldn't help scolding, since I'm convinced he speaks more human than he lets on.

There's nothing I love more than pulling weird, half-chewed crap out of my dog's mouth, but I'm getting pretty used to it and so proceeded to rip the not-so-Great Pumpkin from between his teeth. I thought I had gotten it all...

...an assumption that proved incorrect 15 minutes later as I was rushing around the kitchen getting food ready for dinner guests arriving any minute.

Any dog owner will tell you that there are certain noises we can recognize anywhere. Noises that can wake us instantly from a dead sleep. One such noise is the "I'm getting ready to hurl" noise.

I stopped my running around the kitchen as I heard the dreaded sound. Though I made it into the living room with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, alas. I was not fast enough.

Why must dogs always barf on the carpet? My house is 90% wood floors, yet he ALWAYS tosses his dog cookies on my tiny throw rugs. This time it was also all over his bed.

I won't gross you out too badly with the details, but suffice it to say I ended up having to throw out both his bed and the throw rug as well as change my pants and socks. Enough said.

Also, be grateful I chose the cute picture up top.

Usually I feel sympathetic when my baby is sick. Not this time. Nope. "I. Freakin. Told. You. So." was about as much compassion as he got.

Fortunately, God is much more gracious than I am, and we don't find the words "I told you so" in the Bible (although, there are arguably places where it's implied...).

I too can want things that aren't good for me. Demand them even. Forbidden fruit looks the tastiest, right? But when the logical consequences follow, I have no one to blame but myself.

The Bible tells us over and over again that God is a gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. And those words are found in the Old Testament, where the "mean" God supposedly resides, until the "nice" Jesus comes along. Oh no, my friend - God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and He is gracious beyond our imagining. When I come to him in the midst of my mess, having made myself sick with my own stupid choices, he offers me forgiveness and second chances.

I am in awe. I am grateful beyond measure. May I learn to stop ignoring God's warning signs, but until He finishes his good work in me, what would I do without His grace?

As for Squirrel...

"I really did tell you so, you dumb, sweet boy!!!"

Hey, I'm not God.