My Toddler Treats Me the Way I Treat God. 

lessons about faith through parenting

My husband called me to tell me his latest story about Rece today and of course I laughed out loud because any story about Rece just gets me happy. Rece is our full of life 2 year old monster/angel. He has entered the trying two’s I say trying because it isn’t all terrible. It’s actually fun and awful all at once. Its the most trying time in my life stretching my mind, body, and soul to achieve a good balance at home and keep peace. That monster/angel tries to enhance the peace or tear it down. That peace depends on if I handed him the right beverage, or picked the right color shirt, or even chose the right movie to put on for him.

The Hubs: “Hey, so Rece this morning….”
Me: “Yeah? What’d he do?”
The Hubs: “We were walking out of the house into the garage. I helped him down the big step. He turned around and yelled ‘NO! Rece wants to DO IT!’ So he climbed back into the house and proceeded to step down by himself.”
Me: “Really. wow. what a stinker. what a big boy. I can’t decide.”

After we hung up, I immediately felt this still small voice saying, “how many times have I helped you, only to have you yell at me and do it yourself?” I was shocked into reality. Yeah. How many times have I done that to God? He helps me, guiding me, and then I stop the process and start all over because I didn’t really want His help. I wanted to be able to do it myself. How prideful am I that I want to be able to say I did it?

I started to reflect on other experiences with my boy and realized I can learn a lot about how I treat my heavenly Father by looking at the relationship I have with my son.

I’ll walk in with a cheery face and smile and say “good morning!” (sometimes in song form) Rece says “NO! Go Away Mama…” One time I went to get him after waking up for a nap. I tried to cuddle him in my arms to be met with a slap in the face. I’ll ask, “do you need to go potty?” “NO! NO potteeeeeey!” I then sit him on the toilet and he pees.

I totally relate. I’m constantly being greeted by God’s love and goodness only to refuse to accept it or to slap Him in the face with my ungrateful attitude. I lie to Him about what I need help with, even to the point of holding it in until I burst because I won’t give in to His help.

This morning, all Rece wanted was a balloon he had received at church. Every time he pulled the knot he would laugh his head off. It was downstairs.We were still upstairs, half naked in a diaper at this point. I continued to get him ready, clothes, shoes, brushing teeth… the whole time he WHINED. It wasn’t even words! It was just noise followed by something that sounded like bwoon…. balloon. Uggggh…. I was preparing him for the day, I was getting him to the point of being ready and he needed to wait until I was through to get to the prize of that almost deflated, plain, green balloon. I was frustrated. Trying to catch that kid to hold him down in order to get him dressed was worse than a first try at hog tying.

Rece was getting ready for school where they have a huge playground, paint and coloring, toys, friends, and an indoor playhouse. Things WAY cooler than a balloon. He was so focused on that he didn’t realize the other awesome things were the result of letting me get him ready.

I look at that now and realize it’s a total metaphor for how I treat God. I am so obsessively focused on a plain green balloon that I don’t realize that if I’d just hold still I could allow God to get me prepared for my day, fully ready in order to achieve great things other than a sad green balloon.

I’ve learned a lot about how frustrating it can be to give so much of yourself to make someone’s life easier, better, complete only to be shot down. Providing all that Rece needs is my number 1 priority. It hurts my feelings when he’s so defiant to my provision. Maybe if I made God more personal, and realize how my defiance gets in the way of His provision I would change. I don’t know if my behavior hurts God’s feelings, but I know it’s something that’s unpleasant and more difficult to navigate through rather than if I pursued being a woman after His own heart and surrendered to His purposes and preparation for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

It’s important to remember that the plans are for prospering not harm. Let’s choose to not be so resistant to His work in our lives that we delay the plans for the good and the hope to come in our lives.