Patience is a virtue...right?
I have spoken before about losing my childhood and innocence early. I was telling Jason's Mom just the other day that when I was 5 I was already staying by myself. I look at my babies and imagine letting Jakub (who is six) be alone at home. There is NO WAY on Earth I would let that little fellow stay all alone. I wonder sometimes how I survived...then I think back and don't remember anything bad happening... pfft. My neighbor and I set the woods on fire... But who hasn't done that as a kid? The first time I got pulled over was when I was 9 years old...and I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to be on the road with my motorbike ("sure officer, I'll show you where I live so you can talk to my Daddy").
My father was patient, he really had no choice but to be patient with me. I was hard headed and quite a loner before I even hit the second grade.I can remember getting spankings from him every once in a while... but not very often. He was mostly absent, absent asleep or trying to find a job to support us.
Sometimes I catch myself being really hard on my kids. I think sometimes I recognize that hard headedness in them that developed quickly in me. I don't want them to be like me...though, would that be a really bad thing??? I am a pretty good gal, right? The thing is... I have a 2 year old and a 6 year old. Sometimes I think I expect them to be "grown"...to be more independent...to make the right decisions. THEY ARE BABIES!!!!!!!!!!! What is wrong with me?? I preach and preach about keeping kids innocent, yet there are times I lose complete patience with them.
So, I suppose my whole point today is kids are gonna be kids...let them. If they spill milk (like Jake did last night) just relax and get them to help you clean it up. There is NOTHING in this world that is more important than the flesh and blood that we a raising. So if your child gets sand in the house, or spills their milk on the computer... if they are bickering like cats and dogs... don't over-react...just remember that they are kids, they have to learn through trial and error. If they ruin something...it's just a THING. Our children are way more important than anything we could possess and they need to know that. So next time you are starting to lose patience, put yourself in their shoes for a second. Think about how you were just about to react and think about how a 6 year old would react to your explosion. Be loving and react in love instead of anger. Be the person that you want them to grow up to be.
James 1:3-5 - knowing that all of the testing of your faith produces patience. But let the patience have it's perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it from God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
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