Since my daughter has turned four, she has been...um...shall we say, challenging. The Birthday Fairy sprinkled her with about a pound of sassy glitter and it seems to be getting all over the rest of us. I do not like sassy glitter. Or attitude glitter. Or "Humphf! I don't like your answer" stomp stomp stomp glitter. The glitter needs to go.
But, you know what? Deep down, I like the little pistol in her. She's a tough little cookie and she's not putting up with much gruff from me or her Daddy. And if she's not putting up with gruff from us, then I'm pretty confident she's not going to put up with much from the little boys on the playground either. I'm okay with that.
And she's a determined little thing. Someone, somewhere has taught my daughter the art of the negotiation. She will attempt to negotiate a "snack deal" just about everyday. Or work out some kind of offer regarding just how many toys she has to pick up compared to how many I have to pick up. And when she very reluctantly agrees to whatever rule Mommy and/or Daddy have put their foot down on, you can clearly see a I'll-be-back-to-fight-another-day look upon her face.
And the drama. Do I have to even go there? Words cannot express how teensy-tiny something can be yet the tears, the pouting, the collapsing on the floor...Ugh!...it wears me out just thinking about it.
God love her. And so do I. Because, if anything set this wayward ship on the right course, it was this mighty gust of wind. I have been thankful for this little burr under my saddle for the last four years now. While I was pregnant with her, my husband and I often said we wanted a fighter. File Miss London under "Careful What You Wish For - You Might Just Get It".
Thank you for challenging me to be a better mother.
A better woman. A better wife. A better role model. A better example.
A better fighter, myself.
And a better Christian.
Thank you, Lord, for the pound of sassy glitter. Amen.
What could make a mother happy with her living room looking like this? Well, let's see...there is obviously an abundance of toys. There is new, comfy furniture to rest upon. The walls are sturdy, insulated and intact. There are STILL Christmas trees in the corner (hey, I like 'em, okay?) indicating a joyful celebration. The floors are not dirt but, instead, covered and there is a healthy, happy, well-fed little boy sitting in the mist of it all. Sure, I could be furious about the mess - I often am. I get tired of picking up day after day. Heck, hour after hour, for that matter!
This is a Zimbabwean woman and her child fleeing across the border at Beitbridge Border post in South Africa. Can you imagine? I found this picture while going through Yahoo's Week In Photos last week.It's a wonderful and beautiful Thankful Thursday again over at Sting My Heart. Won't you join us?
I'm giving this particular post the alternative title:
2,874,395 Second Chances.
Here's why:
My daughter has been particularly difficult this last week. Heck, she's been driving me downright bonkers! I don't know what it is, but I do know I just don't have the patience for her typical not-quite-four year old stuff. I won't go into details because if you currently have a four year old, or once had a four year old, or know of a four year old or have ever seen a picture of a four year old in a book then you know what I'm talking about.
This week, as I was tried and tested repeatedly, I was reminded of something a friend of mine (also the owner of a not-quite-four year old) once said about disciplining his child. One night, his daughter was particularly disobedient and he became angry, scolded her and put her in her room. He was at a loss of how to deal with her as she had been acting up recently. He reflected on how the Lord deals with him when he is disobedient to His Word. He realized that, in his life, God had always shown patience and understanding and corrected firmly yet with love and that God always gave him another chance. He realized that he was to do the same with his daughter.
Remembering my friend's experience and insight throughout this week has helped me greatly in dealing with my daughter. I remind myself that I, too, am a child here on this earth and that my Father in Heaven is trying repeatedly to get me to "grow up right". I'm ever thankful of His patience, grace, understanding and loving correction but most of all, I'm thankful for His
2,874,395 - oops! Make that 2,874,396 (and counting) second chances.
Hmm...what am I thankful for this week? Nebraska football? Chocolate chip cookies? The fact that my kitchen miraculously looks clean in this picture? Well, all of those things, really, but most of all it's the handsome fella I am most thankful for.
Cosleeping babies:
The incredible, edible egg:
Spring and all the wonderful colors it brings:
Being married to the one God handpicked for me:
Lifelong friends:
A God who keeps His promises:
Being loved this much:
Life eternal through Christ, my Savior:
Amen.It's Thankful Thursday again over at Sting My Heart. So many things cross my mind on a daily basis of what I have to be thankful for. Just today I was remembering the time waaaaaay back when I was 19 yrs old, living on my own and making a whopping $5.00/hr. I shared an apartment with my best friend that, besides the fact had burnt orange carpeting older than we were and a bit of a sewer roach problem whenever it rained, really wasn't so bad. I didn't have a bed or even a mattress on the floor so I slept on a doubled-over thick comforter and I had just enough clothes for work to make it one week without wearing something twice. I also drove a 1976 Volkswagon Superbeetle with black vinyl seats and no A/C. It had a leak right above the accelerator pedal so that anytime it rained my right foot ended up soaking wet.
Ahhh. Good times.
I also remember one night, laying on my double-over comforter/bed crying because I was flat broke and quite unsure how I was going to pay for things that month. It wasn't that I didn't have people in my life who were willing to help me, I most certainly did. I just didn't have the willingness to swallow my pride and ask for that help. At least I had enough common sense to look to the Lord and I opened my bible. It was one of those moments you hear about - someone desperately needs a word from God so they randomly open their bibles and point to a scripture and it "just so happens" to be exactly what they needed. Here's what I opened my bible to:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:25-34
So, I'd just like to say:
What are you thankful for today or this week? Blog about it and join Sting My Heart for Thankful Thursdays!
