Loving my little angels

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It wasn't that long ago, but I remember looking at parents with unruly kids or kids who didn't behave in a certain "acceptable" manner and wondering what made the kids act that way. I had an opinion on these parents - about how they failed to discipline their kids or stop bad behavior. But then, I had kids. Slowly but surely, I learned my humbling lessons. 

I'm proud of my sweet and loving children and wouldn't want to change them for anything in the world. But, if I expected them to be the epitome of well behaved, exemplary kids, I was sadly mistaken. More likely than not, they would be the ones throwing a tantrum about inane things, having fits about car seats, crying for the silliest reasons, not sharing toys or food with other kids in the same room.

Just the other day, when we are sitting for our Sunday school morning session with the other kids, Naomi coolly looks at one of the older kids and calls him "stupid". One of the parents sitting behind us, laughed and said "Good job, Mommy". Flustered, I proceeded to correct my child and mumbled something about how the older brother watches Thomas and she learned that word from him. But, that was hardly the point. It didn't matter how she learned it.

If I expect my kids to be a reflection my parenting, I would hold them to high standards all the time, which they may or may not be able to keep. I would expect them to act a certain way because I would know that I'm being judged for every right or wrong thing they do. I would try to live my dreams through them. I would expect them to model good behavior and give them no room for error or room to learn from their mistakes and grow. 

Rather than learning to lean on God for His grace for parenting, I would expect them to be mini robots for use in my specimen laboratory. I would try and control them, where they don't even see value in what is right or wrong. They just do it because they have been told. And, maybe when they are on their own, they make a totally different set of decisions. 

Yes, there may be kids who appear perfect and do everything seemingly right all the time, but if the truth were to be told, they have issues of their own (which probably is not visible at that point in time).

There is truth in that as parents, we are responsible for what we present to our kids and to instruct them in how to behave. But, it is equally true that I'm as clueless as I could possibly be, but my kids and I have hope in that, they can run to Jesus as He patches up those rough places as we sprint towards surprised healing.

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