Well, the day finally came where Paige got into a little mischief at school. She and a friend of hers got into the soap and proceeded to make many bubbles, thus sudding the bathroom! She and her friend had to sit out of playtime for the first 5 minutes! Terrible, I know!
We had a nice long talk about it after school and a little discipline on the homefront, and she apologized to her teacher this morning and asked her for forgiveness. Her teacher granted forgiveness, of course, and proceeded to tell me again that she certainly thought that it was peer pressure and Paige did not instigate the situation.
Here is where I feel I need to express some thoughts. Now, anyone who knows Paige, knows that she is my very tender-hearted child. She's very sensitive. I preface this with, we feel like the Lord is really working on Paige's heart. He is making her heart repentant and she is starting to really listen and understand more of the Gospel. She's asking more and more questions and we certainly encourage that. Our prayer is that God would capture all of our childrens' hearts so that they couldn't remember a day of not walking with Him.
That being said, we get alot of flack sometimes about how we raise our children. People literally LIKE it when they disobey! That makes me furious! I realize that maybe it seems funny to others, but we are not just interested in the simple behavior of our children. We are much more concerned with their hearts. Paige, for example, is very much a sinful creature! She disobeys, and whines, and complains, and yes, even suds bathrooms on occasion! The list goes on and on! We want to be diligent in addressing even the little things. Of course, we want to teach grace and mercy as well, and we do. We, too, are very sinful as parents, so our imperfections play out in their lives as well. We do the best we know to do with God's word as our guide. We fall short, but pray that the Lord will continue to cover us in grace and mercy as well.
This leads me to the way we addressed Paige yesterday. I absolutely want her to understand that if she has to be disciplined at school, then she will definitely be disciplined at home. Also, I wanted to reinforce that if she knows something is wrong, then she should not do it! It doesn't matter if someone else instigates it or not, she still participated. What a big lesson to already be discussing with an almost 5 year old! She expressed that she knew it wasn't ok to make such a mess like that in the bathroom, but she chose to do it anyway. We explained that this was sin and she needed to ask for forgiveness. She gets this on a very basic level. The Lord made her super sensitive for a very specific reason and I can't wait to see what He does in her life and how He chooses to use her!
Sorry for the bit of ranting! I just felt the need to get some things out in the open!
1 comment:
Annie, just remember that what we are committed to is completely against the standards of our culture - even the large part of the "Christian" culture. People don't get it!!! I have to say that as a parent nothing - nothing hurts my heart more than to see my children hurt - even if it is by the consequences of sin. But we have to know that we are called to train their hearts and not modify their behavior. Most people would have just laughed at the incident but you did the right thing - Annie. You saw past the behavior to what was happening in her heart and she very much needed you as a mom to do that. Otherwise, she would not have seen the real issue going on in her heart. Heb 12:11 (I think) says that no discipline is plesant but painful but it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are trained by it. Annie don't loose heart- you are bringing glory to our father and your children will rise up and call you blessed!!!
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