In a house of toddler boys, life is never dull. Paper towel rolls become swords. Megablocks become musical instruments or pistols. Baskets/boxes become boats, forts, cars, trains, or anything else. I am randomly greeted with "I'm a frog today" or something else. They can turn ANYTHING into a weapon to be used against their brother or make-believe foes. Rough-and-tumble is their love language. I love it all. I really do. I especially love to see them wrestle with dad on the couch or make neighborhood friends running through the lawn sprinkler.
But, sometimes, I get tired. I loose patience. I get frustrated.
"Why is it that you must be a child?!"
Because, that is just nature. Everyone starts out as an infant and grows to childhood, then young adulthood, then maturity. It is easy to forget that when they have taken the lid off the oil and distributed it on my kitchen floor; when they try to climb into the television only to pull it down on themselves; or when I turn around from the kitchen stove to find them carefully shooting spaghetti noodles down into the slats of the radiator.
Sometimes I grab my child's arm to discipline him, and instantly realize that the problem is my own. So, I pull him into a hug and squeeze tightly while I calm my frustration. A child will be foolish. He will do stupid stuff. He will break things: sometimes for the sheer fun of it. He will make a LOT of messes.
This is the point of training. Training is more than discipline. It is teaching that an action brings a reaction. It is modeling a godly attitude and character. It is reproving in love as well as listening through their tears. It is showing them how to do something well and right. This IS parenting.
So, yes, there are times my boys need a good old spanking; but there are other times that it is I who learns the lesson. If I am constantly frustrated, what do they see? If I am whining or complaining at them, how can I be surprised at their sour attitude? I learn just how impatient I am every day. I need to grow in this grace of life so that my children can learn the joy of life.
My toddlers teach me patience.
But, sometimes, I get tired. I loose patience. I get frustrated.
"Why is it that you must be a child?!"
Because, that is just nature. Everyone starts out as an infant and grows to childhood, then young adulthood, then maturity. It is easy to forget that when they have taken the lid off the oil and distributed it on my kitchen floor; when they try to climb into the television only to pull it down on themselves; or when I turn around from the kitchen stove to find them carefully shooting spaghetti noodles down into the slats of the radiator.
Sometimes I grab my child's arm to discipline him, and instantly realize that the problem is my own. So, I pull him into a hug and squeeze tightly while I calm my frustration. A child will be foolish. He will do stupid stuff. He will break things: sometimes for the sheer fun of it. He will make a LOT of messes.
This is the point of training. Training is more than discipline. It is teaching that an action brings a reaction. It is modeling a godly attitude and character. It is reproving in love as well as listening through their tears. It is showing them how to do something well and right. This IS parenting.
So, yes, there are times my boys need a good old spanking; but there are other times that it is I who learns the lesson. If I am constantly frustrated, what do they see? If I am whining or complaining at them, how can I be surprised at their sour attitude? I learn just how impatient I am every day. I need to grow in this grace of life so that my children can learn the joy of life.
My toddlers teach me patience.
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:2-5
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