Beautiful Chaos
It's the middle of the night and the baby cries for the third time since you put her to bed at 8:00. It's my turn to get up, so I slowly make my way through the dark, grabbing my glasses and shuffling towards her door.
She is sitting up with the pacifier in her mouth, arms up in the air reaching for Mommy. I fix a cup of milk for her, and go settle down in the recliner and start rocking. She swats the milk away and whines trying to find a comfortable position snuggling deeper and deeper into my arms. We keep rocking and nods back off and I can feel her body twitching. I slowly rise to my feet, struggling to carry this ball of muscle, back to her crib so we can all get some rest. I make it back to the edge of her crib and rise her little body up into the air then start to lower her down. But before I can get her down to the bottom of what feels like a mile long, the unspeakable happens. She starts to jerk, her eyes pop open, and the wailing begins because she knows what's coming next. She knows Mom is about to lay her down and walk away and little Miss just ain't having that tonight.
So....I pick her back up and we try again.
I know the days are long and the years are short, but man oh man are these days long. Children are a gift from the Lord and I am so blessed to have three beautiful, healthy, thriving, and active little girls. That being said, this season is tough. I mean its a hard knock life tough. Okay, okay maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but there are days when I'm not sure I can make it though one more whine, cry, and temper tantrum or I might actually lose my sanity. Like I mean really lose it.
My husband put himself in time-out the other day because inside our quaint little house on Saturday morning this is what was transpiring:
My husband and I were talking and reflecting on our parenting, and we came to the conclusion: This season of life is one of perseverance and endurance. Although we do discipline our children and we try to do so very consistently and together, our children still misbehave. They are children and they are going to make the wrong choices. As adults, sometimes we put ourselves in a different category than children and we forget that a lot of the same mistakes children make, we make too. They look a little bit differently, but ultimately they are the same.
We still disobey, we still back talk, we still get angry, we still want to put ourselves first, we still don't want to share. When I started thinking about this, I started to realize I need to view my job during this season as my Heavenly Father views it. Time and time again, he forgives me, he loves me, he redirects me with a gentle and loving hand when I make wrong choices. He never gives up and questions whether or not he's doing it right. He just sticks with me and keeps teaching. He is in it in for the long haul and will never turn away.
So parents, guide your children in the Truth. Don't give up on it, and in the right season your efforts will reap a harvest of righteousness as long as you put God first in your life and teach your children to do the same. Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6
With love,
Tori
She is sitting up with the pacifier in her mouth, arms up in the air reaching for Mommy. I fix a cup of milk for her, and go settle down in the recliner and start rocking. She swats the milk away and whines trying to find a comfortable position snuggling deeper and deeper into my arms. We keep rocking and nods back off and I can feel her body twitching. I slowly rise to my feet, struggling to carry this ball of muscle, back to her crib so we can all get some rest. I make it back to the edge of her crib and rise her little body up into the air then start to lower her down. But before I can get her down to the bottom of what feels like a mile long, the unspeakable happens. She starts to jerk, her eyes pop open, and the wailing begins because she knows what's coming next. She knows Mom is about to lay her down and walk away and little Miss just ain't having that tonight.
So....I pick her back up and we try again.
I know the days are long and the years are short, but man oh man are these days long. Children are a gift from the Lord and I am so blessed to have three beautiful, healthy, thriving, and active little girls. That being said, this season is tough. I mean its a hard knock life tough. Okay, okay maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but there are days when I'm not sure I can make it though one more whine, cry, and temper tantrum or I might actually lose my sanity. Like I mean really lose it.
My husband put himself in time-out the other day because inside our quaint little house on Saturday morning this is what was transpiring:
- One child was crying because she wanted coffee which she is clearly to young to have, I mean she's one.
- The other child, had just hit her sister because she didn't like the way she was playing with her and then she proceeded to back talk because she's grown and knows everything there is to know about life (insert eye roll).
- The other one had been asked to get dressed three times and she was still walking around her house in her underwear whining because her arms hurt and she can't raise them up high enough to put her shirt over her head. Mind you there is absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing wrong with her arms except they get hit with a dose of "I want someone else to do everything for me."
My husband and I were talking and reflecting on our parenting, and we came to the conclusion: This season of life is one of perseverance and endurance. Although we do discipline our children and we try to do so very consistently and together, our children still misbehave. They are children and they are going to make the wrong choices. As adults, sometimes we put ourselves in a different category than children and we forget that a lot of the same mistakes children make, we make too. They look a little bit differently, but ultimately they are the same.
We still disobey, we still back talk, we still get angry, we still want to put ourselves first, we still don't want to share. When I started thinking about this, I started to realize I need to view my job during this season as my Heavenly Father views it. Time and time again, he forgives me, he loves me, he redirects me with a gentle and loving hand when I make wrong choices. He never gives up and questions whether or not he's doing it right. He just sticks with me and keeps teaching. He is in it in for the long haul and will never turn away.
So parents, guide your children in the Truth. Don't give up on it, and in the right season your efforts will reap a harvest of righteousness as long as you put God first in your life and teach your children to do the same. Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."
Proverbs 22:6
With love,
Tori
Comments
Post a Comment