Year in the life of Dez...day four

"You hate me"

There is nothing more heart wrenching than when your child says, "You hate me" or "I hate you". It's almost like they know those two phrases are going to be the fatal blow. The most incredible part of the whole thing most of the time is "where did they get the word Hate and how did they learn how to wield it".

I understand the word hate, and as a child once can fully understand the emotion behind the words. A child usually resorts to those words when they are feel the most frustrated...the most "unheard" or the most humiliated. That word is their cuss word.

So last night my child told me I hated him. He has told me that before. It is his last and final weapon for manipulation. All of it stemmed from the fact that I wouldn't give him peanut butter right before bed. A brief struggle ensued and 15 minutes before bedtime turned into an hour after. His weapon of mass destruction didn't work on me this time though. In fact, he had it turned right around on him.

A lesson most people should understand and should teach their children is that people who love each other do not hit or tear each other down. People that love one another look for the best in each other. They are not out to make the other feel guilty for emotions that they themselves are suffering through. Jakub has to learn, just like everyone else in the world, what "true love" is.

Jesus... God...the holy Spirit, teaches us in the Bible of UNCONDITIONAL love. There are so many different ways we see it all throughout it's passages. I think that the love for your child, and I can only speak from a mother's point of view, is that of UNCONDITIONAL love. Meaning, that no matter what your child does, you will love them. That is how God loves us...because we are his Children. He even loves us when we get mad at him and turn our backs. He loves us when we "hate" him or doubt him. No matter what, God loves us unconditionally.

Am I mad a Jakub? No, not really. I am hurt by his choice of words and the way he acted. I am certain he is probably angry with me for not giving him peanut butter...and putting him to bed early...and refusing to talk to him till he calmed down. Does Jake still love me...I have no doubt.

Can you remember times you have been terribly angry with your parents? What about God?

I Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek it's own, it is not provoked and seeks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, endures all things. Love never fails.