I have a pretty strong family, but I am by no means an expert when it comes to parenting. Most of the time, we’re flying by the seat of our pants over here. Case in point:
The littlest Irving had a really rough afternoon today. It all started with a sheet of homework that we sat down to finish. Who knew writing five sentences could be such torture? Papers were thrown, tears were shed, screen time was taken away, time-out was given. There was even a wooden spoon involved at one point: “Mommy’s Spankin’ Spoon” is its official name.
When it was all said and done, hugs had been given and all was right with the world, so I asked Ben if he wanted to go for a walk to “Best View”. There’s a corner at the end of our block that provides a birdseye view of Manoa Valley with the most incredible view of the Honolulu Skyline to the south and a gorgeous view of the Ko’olau mountains to the north. It’s especially beautiful at night when all of the lights illuminate the sky, but it’s also really intriguing at dusk when the lights are just starting to shine. As we walked toward “Best View”, we chatted about the day and about the flowers along the sidewalk and the cars that drove by. All was forgiven. We had somehow managed to move past the afternoon’s disastrous events. All was right in the world again.
Of course just minutes after we got back to the house, my patience was tested again by the little man and I felt all of the aggravation from before our walk rise back up to the surface. I was done. “To bed with you, Little Man!” I brushed his teeth, read him a story and turned the light off. We chatted about sin and God’s gift of Jesus and then he requested a song, as he usually does. I was hoping to get away with a quick one, but of course he wasn’t having that.
“Sing ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness,’ Mom”.
Once again, my frustration dissipated as my arms wrapped around my little man and my heart worshiped in the dark. Three verses later, I left him snug in his bed, thankful that another day of parenting has passed and we can start fresh again with new mercies in the morning.
I’m no expert at this parenting gig, but by Kid #6, I have learned a thing or two. I know that it’s important to forgive over and over and over. It’s important to discipline and it’s important to cuddle up with a book at bedtime. Most importantly, I want to teach all of my kids that if they mess up, there’s enough grace to cover it and new mercies in the morning because our God is faithful.
So in the interest of full disclosure: I don’t have all the answers. But I’ll gladly share the things I’m learning and somehow we will raise these kids to know and love the Lord. Because (at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy), the truth is that even though I don’t have all the answers, I’m so glad to say that I know the One who does.
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