Just when you think you've mastered the subtleties of the toddler, they throw a monkey wrench into the works. My son has been in the "terrible twos" for about three and a half years now, and I have at times thought I'd seen it all. But like most children my son never ceases nor hesitates to amaze me.
This week, more specifically yesterday, my son decided to innocently get into more trouble than he has been in over the course of an entire month. "Dad? Guess what?" Those few words were the precursor to numerous adventures, all of which were in the negative category. My grandmother's baby powder bowl? Four pieces, Gorilla-glued back together. Small lamp used each night at bedtime? On the floor, bulb shattered into 73-112 shards. The list could go on and on…and on.
It seems that in the last week or so my little bundle of sunshine has been pushing the envelope, really testing how far he can push his mother, me, any authority figures. And without fail, he discovers that line in near-record time.
It has been a challenge, I tell myself it's just a phase, that all kids do things like this, that I should thank the Lord every day for blood pressure meds. Why, even as I speak the child is making more noise than a pack of dogs at a dropped hamburger convention. I ask myself, "What is it you're trying to show me, Lord?" And then He answers.
We are much the same, spiritual toddlers for longer than we probably should be. We push the envelope, step over the line, try to rationalize and explain away our behavior, hoping beyond all hope that we can get by with it. All the while we are growing and learning, but are often slow to put the lessons into practice. How must our heavenly Father feel?
As an earthly father, I can kind of relate. I can imagine God looking down, perhaps a shade on the frustrated side, maybe thinking, "It's a phase. He'll grow out of it. He'll learn this time." And time and again, like the toddler I am, I ask "Why?" I tell myself (and God), "I learned my lesson this time. I won't do it again, I promise." And then, not too long afterward, I'm telling Him "I'm sorry" a few more times for the very same thing.
But I'm learning. I'm learning what it means to be a father, and through that I'm learning what it means to be a son, a son of the heavenly Father. So the next time my son yells and screams and bangs things together (as he currently is right at this moment), I might be a little more patient, knowing that the Lord is watching me in kind of the same way.
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1 comment:
Could it be that there is "competition" on the way? Children get very scared, that their special place in their parent's heart is going to be forgotten when a baby shows up. Therefore, in their way of thinking, it's time to get all the attention you can because it may not be here later. We know this isn't true but the kids don't. They're still learning how all this stuff works concerning relationships never changing.....only roles change. (Only child becomes big brother and therefore gains more responsibility). We all know how terrifying responsibility is....not to mention more of it being loaded on us....haha.
Hang in there Chris.
Jennifer
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