Parenting Su-/Ro- cks

I was actually feeling pretty cruddy about being a parent today when I realized I am acting toward my kids in much the same way God acts toward me.

WOW. Did that feel good or WHAT?

Let me cue this up:

Mike and a friend took all the kids to a soccer game this afternoon, leaving me and my friend's wife to "alone time".* At the end of the game, sweet friend asked about taking all the kids out for dinner. Seeing that the clock was about to struck six, Mike called me.

I didn't exactly say "no", but I did remind Mike that the kids would have to be REALLY choosy about what they ate and that most places weren't going to meet their needs and, in fact, would serve food that would send them on a attentionless high. Plus, there was church in the morning, a mission's party at noon, and Halloween candy in the near future.**

He agreed. But the damage had already been done. The kids were already keyed up for dinner out.

I was hanging my head after hanging up thinking "I HATE being the bad guy. I hate being the one who says "no" to birthday cupcakes at 2pm and "no" to dinner out at 6pm."

And then it dawned on me: God does the exact same thing with me!

He says "no" to things some of the time and waits for me to comply. If I don't get the message the first time, he says "no" again. And waits. And, on and on and on the cycle goes.

In fact, if I consult the Bible on this one, I see that He let the Israelites wander 40 years, waiting for their "AH HA" moment.*** That's an awful lot of "nos" and a gob of waiting.

This is how God shows me He loves me: He doesn't let me go willy-nilly and do what I want, when I want. He puts boundaries down and sets a line in the sand and says "These are the rules that are here FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

I bet, if He were human like I am, He'd have moments of doubt and anguish and second-guessing, just like I do.

But, thank goodness, He doesn't waver. He calls a spade a spade and moves on. And waits for me to go "OOOOHHHH. THAT'S a spade. DUH."

And, so, I feel better that I am sticking to my guns. I'm not the bad guy here; I'm the one showing my kids that I love them so much that I'm willing to let them get mad at me for refusing their request in their best interest.

I may not win any gold stars or get a trophy or receive a big "thank you" tonight when they walk through the door. But, that's OK.

Someday they'll know how much I love them when they think on all the times I said "no" for their own good.


*Mike: Thank you, thank you, a thousand times, thank you!

**See post from 10/31 regarding the limited candy consumption in our house. The KIDS limited consumption, that is.

***PLEASE, Lord, don't let me wander 40 years before listening to you!