It was a promising morning, when my son woke me with a kiss on the cheek. The mood turned sour quickly when he began asking [crying] [begging] God to turn him into a snail so he could roll off the bed. (He claimed this happened awhile back). I then proceeded (with God's wisdom) to tell him that although we can ask God for anything, God is not to be treated like a genie. Our wish is not his command. It was tough to get back on track & get ready for school, but we managed. Somehow a little game of Eye Spy sprang up in the car (his initiation). Once I picked him up from school, it came [back] ...with a vengeance. The whining, complaining, ungrateful, sassy attitude. Where did this come from? I just asked you if you enjoyed your lunch box note! I knew that bringing this little angry bird home to four walls would prove difficult at the least. I needed something...and fast. So we passed home and parked at Hays Nature Preserve. Determined to redeem the day, I came up with a plan [God came up with a plan and graciously transferred it to me...hence my prayer for wisdom 4 hours earlier had come to fruition!] So I gave him an imaginary pair of "rose glasses" (kinda like rose-colored glasses) & explained the rules: When you put them on you can' complain or argue. You can only say positive things. There was resistance. If I had of been beside him I would have gotten socked in the eye. In fact, on the way to the trailhead, his pair got thrown on the ground and smashed to bits (I think this was quite enjoyable for him, albeit they were still imaginary glasses). Luckily, I always keep an extra pair in my pocket for an occassion such as this. He humored me and put them on this time. By golly, it worked! [Not that I ever doubted you God!] The adventure and beauty of the place just melted away that sour spirit of his.
We said Popcorn Prayers for whomever "popped" into our heads. We played Hide & Seek and Pooh Sticks (racing sticks in the stream). We chased butterflies, grasshopper-like creepy crawlies, caught a slug, and we even found a pile of stones which we assembled into a stone altar to thank God for creating this beautiful place and allowing us to experience it today.
4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”This passage has kinda stuck in my mind since last year. The stones are a {hard} visual for my dull brain, REMEMBER, God is faithful. He does what He says. So now I have a thing for rocks and stones. Ask me about my Grace Stone Garden sometime. The point is, after all this, he got quiet and said he wanted to sit by himself. Then the moment came so unexpectedly. He finally told me someone had hurt his feelings on the playground at school today. I asked him how he handled it. He said "I told them I didn't care." I told him he was wise and that I was proud of him. Then I got to share how all the kids at school made fun of me because I was freakishly small until 8th grade. But that anger inside him had a root. And maybe we plucked that root today and put a seed of kindness there instead of a seed of bitterness. He's only 4. But what better time to start learning how to take care of real problems? Thank you God, I could never parent a child without you.
It's constant work diverting and distracting him fromt his awful mean anger that wells up inside of him. Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly fighting. It's full time. It's exhausting. But God is faithful to answer my prayers - wisdom for us both. When we got home, we had a snack and he dressed up like a superhero while I taught him some hand motions* to Phillippians 4:13. I felt victory. And to a fighting Mama, he was a hero.
*(I borrowed this little ditty from one of my blog heros, OhAmanda!)
