By Stacey Davis
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it Proverbs 22:6
I was having one of those days, you know…when you are thinking “Why do I bother talking when no one is listening?” This thought kept popping into my head over that went something like this, “seriously, is this what motherhood is? A series of repeated phrases and directions given to children over and over and over and over again until they finally get the message?” I feel like a broken record sometimes….
“Be nice to your sister!”
“Hands are for helping, not hitting!”
“Be patient…”
I even asked my 4 year old at one point during the day, “How many times does mommy have to say it until you will finally listen???” She answered, straight-faced, “um, a lot.”
I went to seek comfort from my husband. Red faced I asked him, “Why do they have to act like such, such, such….” I couldn’t find the right word! He looked at me and with a grin filled in the blank for me, “Children?”
Yep, they are children. Not little adults who know and understand how they should act all of the time and can reasonable handle dissapointment or lack of sleep. And as a parent, it is my job to train them up. Which means teach them and allow them to practice. Some days they get it right and some days it is just wrong, wrong, wrong! So I start over again the next day. And I rejoice in those moments when they don’t know I’m watching and I see the fruits of my broken record.