How many more bites?

We went to the park this afternoon and when we got home both of the girls were crying over one thing or another.  I decided that we all needed a bit of alone time.  So I put Sophi down in her bed, sent Alexandra to my bed and settled in downstairs with a book.  After a bit I started dinner (grilled chicken and baked potatoes) hoping to time it right so that everything would be ready right as the girls woke up.
My dinner timing was about the only thing I did do right.  For whatever reason Alexandra woke up crying and decided that she should be sad for the remainder of the night.  In an effort to get her out of her funk I called Anthony's parents and asked if they would like to meet us for ice cream as soon as we were done eating.  I thought that having a yummy reward on the other end would make the journey through meal time a bit happier.  I was wrong.
Alexandra complained the moment that I set her plate in front of her that she did not want cheese on her potato...commence more crying.  We finally made it through the prayer only for her to tell me that eating was too hard and the potato was too big.  I reminded her that if she ate her dinner then she could go and get ice cream.  She then asked *the* question - "How many bites do I have to take?"  My response was "Just start eating and I will tell you when you have had enough".
I then had a major breakthrough moment.  When I am faced with a huge baked potato sized trial or situation in my life I ask the Lord "How many steps do I have take on faith?  How far do I have to go before I know your plan?"  I have learned that the Lord is often telling me "I am watching you, I see your progress and I will tell you when you have had enough".  The longer I do this whole parenting thing the more frequently I relate the situations I go through with my girls to what the Lord has to go through with me.
As we are going through one of those "I'm in the dark Lord, a little direction would help" moments right now I am grateful that the Spirit taught me that sometimes Heavenly Father may not know exactly how much it will take for us to learn or grow or do whatever it is we need to do while *in the dark*.  Just as I was unsure of just how much I could require of Ali. But as He sees our progress He will say "only 2 more bites (or steps) and then you can be done". 
And when we go to Him and with a smile on our humble faces say "Lord, guess what, I did it!  I finished" - just as Alexandra beamed as she showed me her nearly empty plate.  He will say "I knew you could do it" just as I praised my sweet 4 year old. 
The most touching part of the experience was when Ali responded "I know you can do it too Mom!"  And though she does not know the spiritual connection I made with a routine dinner time dance, I felt she was cheering me on to have faith and take the bites in front of me, despite feeling overwhelmed and unfit to face my baked potato challenge.