I am spoiled.

I have come to the realization that I am spoiled.  All parents know about that moment when their child has been spoiled.  For instance, perhaps the child has gone to grandma's house and enjoyed their fill of cookies and sugary drinks and then they come home to reality where breakfast has more bran than sugar and drinks are clear because they are water.  It is hard to come down from the mountain of grandmas to the reality of home. 

I realize however that this is how I often view my relationship with God.  When things are going good I feel like I am at grandmas.  God is answering prayers and moving in marvelous ways, my bank account is full and I am happy as a clam at high tide.  Then something bad happens and I wonder immediately where God went and why my life is now not the mountain-top experience I long for?  When things get hard I wonder where God is.  Here is the kicker.  I am spoiled. 

No where does God promise me perpetual bliss until the moment that He returns.  In fact He is pretty clear that until that happens life will be hard.  So I can be thankful for the times when things are going perfectly, but when things do not, it is not that God is distant, it is that I am spoiled and my expectations have changed. 

This is just my story.  But I wonder if there are others out there willing to admit with me that we are spoiled.  We treat God as though He is our grandfather and expect Him to continue to spoil us.  When he does not, we throw a little tantrum.  May God help us to rely on Him in good and bad times and trust that what He does is best for us, even when it does not feel too good!