Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Parenting: It’s Never An Interruption

Loved this article.  Here’s a short excerpt:

“What you do know is that Scripture gives you the wisdom that you need and your always-present Messiah gives you the grace that you need to be ready to respond to the moments of opportunity he will give you….  In his grace and love, he will manufacture moments that expose the needy hearts of our children to us. He will faithfully employ the little moments of everyday life to expose to us and our children their need of rescuing and forgiving grace. And he will not do this only at the moments which you feel are appropriate and when you feel most prepared.”

It reminded me to change how I view…

  • moments of the greedy gimmies in the store.  I already know my kids are greedy.  Why am I surprised when they ask for things in the store?  My job is not to get frustrated by it, but teach my kids to be generous and wise as they shop instead of greedy and undisciplined. 
  • times when I lose it and yell at my kids in anger.  Instead of justifying my anger or explaining it away, can I humbly ask forgiveness and learn to respond in love?
  • fighting over possession of toys.  It doesn’t matter who had it first, who it belongs to, or how long they’ve had it.  The condition of their heart matters.  Are they being selfish? greedy?  respectful?  unkind?  Or are they being generous, giving, humble, and kind?

By the way, I don’t necessarily agree with the Berenstain Bears’ solution for the greedy gimmies, but the book did give us a good name to identify whiny, selfish behavior!

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