I've been sweet toooooooo long!

Reading my Bible produced a lot of thought for me this morning.  Jeremiah 13-15.
I take myself way too seriously.  I take others even more "way too seriously".  I trust the patience of God way too often.
This is one thing I do know.  God doesn't change.  He is love, he is mercy, he is grace - over and over.  But what makes me think I can ignore him time and time again and he will never get his fill of it?
I love my G-girl. You all have gotten that message time to time and time again.  But she's going through this 'thing' right now.  Even though she is a general joy and a characteristically happy child, she frequently tries to bully people into doing and giving what she wants.  It became a topic of discussion several times this past week.  "You can't force me, you can't intimidate me, you can't shame me into doing what I won't do!" 
There were a few times when her grandpa and I each responded with "I'm done."  She of course would back-pedal and plead for reinstatement of whatever she was trying to get when things went awry.  But as I explained more than once, when I am done, I am done.  Buy into it and let's get on with life.
Now I'm not equating myself with God, so please don't go there.  In my reading, God said to Jeremiah, "I'm going to destroy these people.  Don't ask for a reprieve."  Jeremiah thought God was too slow about the change in chapter 12, and God said if you can't make it through basic, how will you ever fight a war?  And if you can't walk on open level ground, how can you navigate the thickets beside the water?  I learned long ago that sometimes you can't get around the thickets, you have to get through them - not easy.
Then God shows Jeremiah what he is going to do, famine-starvation, plague-death, war-die or go captive.
Jeremiah starts coming at God from various angles trying to change the outcome.  The prophets deceived them telling them this was just temporary and God wouldn't let them die.  They could expect peace and prosperity.  God said, "but they lied; they weren't sent and the people only listened because they wanted to."
What about the promises? They are your people forever.  "They are my people and they've broken every agreement; they've discarded every command; they've given themselves to useless idols over and over.  They were not deceived."
What about those who really love and honor you?  "Do what I say and I will take care of you and provide for you.  The others will hate you and fight you, but I will protect you if you do what I say when I say."
God told him he would weep in solitude; he would not change the outcome.  God basically said "I'm done."  The idea of God going off to cry is difficult for me.  The idea that God will decree destruction and not relent is consuming.
Yet this morning, during my reading I saw the last little conflict that happened yesterday before we took Liv home.  She wanted her grandpa to play a game with her.  He said he probably would, but he had to finish what he was doing.  She hassled, demanded, jerked on his body, accused, whined, yelled and finally he said, "I'm done with this.  I will not play with you."
She came in crying and I reminded her of when she had done that to me a few days earlier.
When I finished what I was working on, I pulled up the game she wanted to play and we began playing.  But soon she was getting even more than playing the game, I asked her to stop, told her I would shut it down, told her it was no fun for either of us when she did that but she continued on her path of destruction.  I finally said, "I'm done" and shut it off.  She tried to back pedal and beg but I really was done.  I set her up with something to do by herself and went to fix supper.  In a couple of minutes she came in and needed some help.  I helped her and then she came to fix supper with me.
What I saw this morning was that my love for her did not subside at all, but some things are not acceptable and there comes an end to the unacceptable.  Now I cannot even remotely compare a child's intense misbehavior to the sins of idolatry, greed and cruelty that God was reacting to.  I cannot really equate the feeling I had at being done with the feeling God had at being done.  Nor can I truly equate her short misery with the misery that the people of Judah were going through.  But the truth I saw was that God cried for the 'stop' he put in place though in truth it had to come.  God cared and promised long term restoration and redemption even in the misery he was going to allow for the present.  And for his servant who would obey, God promised divine intervention even though he did not promise "stress free, pain free, worry free days."  And I realized that God really is 'Love' even when I don't get my way.