Grace Alone, and Maybe a Drink or Three...

Today I read an awesome blog on Like Mother, Like Daughter (http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2009/05/chew-on-this.html) about discpline and children. Now, you know as well as I that there are 100trillion billion million quadrillion opinions, experts and bits of advice on how to raise and discpline kids. For the constant keep-yourself-updated mom, I am sometimes on overload from the articles, book recommendations, and advice (sometimes wanted, sometimes not) that I am always getting. In the midst of all my fact gathering, and laborious research, it's easy to forget that the best set of principles on how to raise children come from the best teacher of all...

Ok folks, I'm about to get a little preachy here, and so if religion isn't your cup of tea, skip down to prior posts or take a perusal at something else, and I promise in a paragraph or two the preaching will be done with, and yes, consider yourself forewarned.

Our Heavenly Father is the best parent, and teacher of all. Not only that but He also granted us the beauty and gift of our child(ren). But it's easy to forget at 1 in the morning when the baby has been screaming all night, or your little one has been sick all night. It's also easy to forget when your lovely child throws a humongous tantrum in the middle of the check out isle at the grocery store, and refuses to get off the floor unless she gets a packet of gum. It's even easier still to forget when little missy or mr thinks it would be fun to spend the afternoon hitting, pinching, pushing, kicking, or biting you, because (s)he is at "that stage." For a mom who has worked all day at home or in an office, the end of the day can be a total breaking point, and there have been a few occassions when this mommy has spent the rest of the night effectively "broken." In the middle of this three ring circus where everyone else is the main act, except for you, how easy it is also to feel forgotten and resentful, putting more tension and friction into an already too long day. Now multiply by this feeling by ohhh....100trillion billion million quadrillion times, and that's probably a very clear picture of how God our Father must at sometimes feel towards all of us, his precious and much beloved Children. However, God does not ever reach a breaking point, (well not since he last flooded the Earth that is!), nor does he show resentment, or feel abandoned. Our Father is wise enough to instill those feelings (as tricky as they are) into all of to remind us to remember to turn to him.

Just as much as my little monster wants to climb up into my lap and get held and cuddled, God wants us to (figuratively speaking) also climb up and cuddle. He wants to nutrture us and help us to grow in spirit and mind, and give us guidance whether or not we know we need it. Children are a wonderful gift from God to remind us how much He loves each and everyone of us. God also wants to challenge us, to continue to mold and shape us to help us understand what unconditional love is, and the absolute gift and virture of patience. So my advice is this, nuture your children as God the Father nurtures you, and you cant' go wrong! For a mom who's been on the edge the entire week, and less than nurturing or nice, this is something I know I need to work on more, and I am glad that I found the chance to reflect on these things, and just relax. Thank God for that!

Ok, preaching over, and on to more fun things, like my dramatic life, and other such whimsies. So I did get to see S yesterday after all, and felt like a total fool for getting so mad about it. Poor Mr. Cranky Pants. On a good note, Mrs. Cranky Pants has not shown up today, so hopefully she will gone for good, until about this time next month.....

S and family are coming for the weekend and I am so excited, I feel like it's going to be Christmas morning, which for a grown adult (a term I uses very loosely) it is just a bit weird, but still exciting!

And on the bad mommy front, the little monster goes in tomorrow to have a ton of cavaties filled.... sigh.... at least the little brat's been through it too, and S has been very helpful with calming me down... (I'm totally a nervous wreck on the inside, and all business on the outside). It's FRIDAY! And Friday is also another Happy Hour Day! So I will have to update you all tomorrow with my latest creation!

Be good ya'll, and have a wonderful weekend.


Mrs. R

PS Don't forget that sometimes when you just can't go anymore, grace alone can and will carry you through.