"do not exasperate your children"
Ephesians 6:4
I made a mistake the other day, as a mom. I scolded my Awesome Girl for not doing something that I had asked her to do.
Why was that a mistake? Because in retrospect, what I had asked her to do was not something she should have been expected to do.
I think I expected her to, because I was able to when I was her age.
At least, I think I was.
Maybe it's just something I can do now, and when I look back at my young self, I think I was capable of more than I really was capable of.
But it occurred to me after I expressed my disappointment to her, that I had asked her to do something that was difficult for her. Even if I was able to do it when I was her age, she's not the same person I am. She has different strengths and weaknesses. I need to see better what she's good at, and what are her weak points, and work with her to strengthen those. You can't force these things. It's just gonna frustrate her, and make me angry.
God is better at this ~ go figure. He knows us so well. He knows how to work with who we are, and who we can be. He knows when to push us; when to stretch us. And He knows when we can't handle any more stretching, and need to rest.
No one knows my kids better than I do. Well, no one but God, of course. That knowledge of them is a privilege and a blessing. I'm truly grateful to God for giving me eyes to see them ~ not just physically, but intimately. But I need to use that knowledge to their benefit. He's chosen me to help them grow, not hold them back.
And I am one lucky mom.
~ "Many daughters have done well,
but you excel them all" ~
Proverbs 31:29
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