Devotional: August 28, 2026

Hey Reader,

For some reason, my kids do NOT like Mac 'n Cheese. It makes zero sense, because isn't that a food that all children will eat? I don't get it. And since Maximus is no longer allergic to dairy, I have been wanting to get him to try it. But I don't push it.

So when we went grocery shopping and were down the aisle with Mac 'n Cheese, imagine my surprise when my two-year-old, Finnegan, began demanding it! Okay, let's try it. As I skimmed the boxes of characters to try and find one they would like the best, I landed on Bluey. Maximus, who is four, was so excited and reassured me he would eat it.

Recently, we began cooking together in the kitchen, and it has been so much fun, but NOTHING has included the stove top. I knew this would be a challenge, but I was willing to risk it so they could try a new food.

When lunchtime approached once we got home, I had them help where they could and then set them up with their activity books while the water began to boil.

Something about me... I hate cooking. And it's not like this is really even cooking, I know. But I have this fear of either poisoning everyone by accident (Mac 'n Cheese felt pretty safe from that!) or burning the house down.

The water began to boil, and I dumped the Bluey noodles into the pot to stir. And then my nose made me very aware that Finnegan needed a diaper change. Which meant I had to somehow get myself, Finnegan, AND Maximus upstairs to change his diaper. With the noodles cooking. So immediately I thought, "Oh my goodness, I am about to start a fire in the house." But it had 8 minutes left of cooking. A diaper change wouldn't take 8 minutes. Right?

Well, Maximus was unwilling to go upstairs. He wanted to do his activity book and couldn't understand that we could bring it upstairs, that we'd be coming back downstairs after, that there was a time limit, and that I needed to rush because of the cooking noodles. After 2 minutes of chasing him, I finally decided to pick him up and carry him upstairs. And this did NOT make him happy. But it was necessary. I didn't have time to explain everything. I just needed to move.

After I cleaned up Finn, we were ready to go downstairs, but both boys had found new toys to play with. New things to distract them. New things for fun. And no one wanted to go downstairs.

I panicked. "WE HAVE TO GO DOWNSTAIRS. I DON'T WANT TO START A FIRE."

Immediately, both boys jumped to their feet, and we all rushed downstairs to the cooking noodles and a timer with 1 minute left. All was well.

ALL WAS WELL.

If only the story ended there.

I did not poison anyone, and I did not start a fire. But after all the hubbub, no one ate the Mac 'n Cheese.

I was frustrated. (And I absolutely cried.) But then... I thought about God...

How many times have we prayed to God, asked Him for things (maybe even begged Him for things)? How long did it take to get our prayers answered? And how soon after did we "forget"? I am using quotations here because we didn't really forget, but we did move on. We became ungrateful, or wanted a different answer, or moved on to the next thing we were concerned about... when instead, we should have stayed focused on what He had done.

It reminds me of the ten lepers Jesus healed in Luke 17. All ten were cleansed, but only one came back to fall at Jesus's feet and thank Him. Jesus even asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17). Just one out of ten came back to actually enjoy what he'd been given.

So often we pray for our "Bluey Mac 'n Cheese" outcome. And when we finally get it? After crying and praying and begging and pleading... how many of us actually ENJOY the Mac 'n Cheese before moving on?

Here's our (yes, our, because I need the reminder too!) reminder to keep enjoying our Bluey Mac 'n Cheese prayers. Because God is good. And He deserves our praise.

P.S. — Take 5 minutes to thank God for something you haven't thanked Him for in a while. Even a prayer that was answered 15 years ago. That praise still matters.

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