Both of our children had some life lessons this past weekend.
Life lessons are never easy, but they are necessary as we learn what the Lord wants to teach us from our choices or our mistakes.
I'm keeping it "generic" so that they do not feel "picked on" and that I am on here "telling all." I just see these as great learning experiences.
Here is the first:
One of our kiddos got angry with me because I wouldn't help him/her with a part of something they were studying. Actually, let me say this differently... I did help, but my precious one wanted me to give him/her all of the answers instead of having to think of it on his/her own.
Life would be so simple if we just gave our kids all of the answers and made things easy, right?
NO. We actually wouldn't learn as much.
This same child stayed angry with me for a few hours. When I asked this child why he/she was still angry, he/she began to tell all of the reasons why... and it boiled down to the fact that I did not "help" him/her as he/she wanted. I made him/her think. I made him/her go and research the facts on his/her own. That caused the irritation.
Isn't that the way we are with the Lord? He is trying to teach us something but we just want the answer right now? We don't want to work for it or learn from it, we just want to have all things the easy way.
After talking it over with him/her, I shared that I knew what he/she was feeling because I had lived it... I had done it.. and I knew how I ended up in that situation. I learned it wasn't worth giving Satan a stronghold even if it is just a few hours. Bitterness and wrath can harbor up and create problems the longer they stay. It is never healthy.
I was thankful for the restoration with him/her and the ability to move past and learn from mistakes.
Here is the second learning experience with my kids:
The other child got angry at him/herself because he/she did not do well at a task he/she had done. He/she wanted to quit. When I tried to encourage, he/she said I didn't know what it was like and he/she did not want to be embarrassed when doing this in front of others.
No matter how much I "cheered," the child continued to be upset. I finally told him/her that the Lord is using this as a time to learn something. It was a time to learn that he/she needed to depend on the Lord for all things, and if things do not go as he/she had hoped, still learn from it and see what the Lord is teaching. I shared with him/her that I had experienced the same thing and knew what it felt like. I had to learn something from it.
This is also something we have with the Lord - He gives us what we need to do a task, but we give up too easily. We think that we can't do what He has asked.... and WE, as an individual, can't. But with the Lord's help, WE CAN.
I kept helping him/her see that the Lord wanted him/her to keep going and just learn. The situation became one of "helplessness" to realizing it is a learning process and the Lord is teaching us with everything we do. I was thankful for that change of attitude and the realization that only the Lord can help us in anything.
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