HELP. We have three minutes left on this five-minute time-out, and every second is slashing at my soul. I swear, I'm not going to make it without your help, Lord. My son is sitting on the hardwood floor in the hallway, banging his head in rage against the wall and howling in pure fury. Why do those stupid discipline books make it sound so easy? Your child breaks a rule, you discipline him coolly and effectively, and POOF--He grows up to be a collected, self-composed adult. Here in the real world, nothing is clear-cut. Yes, my three-year-old bit his brother in rage, hard and on purpose. (I have to say, that if "said brother" had taken my lollipop from my own bare hands and threw it in the dirt, I might have thought about biting him as well. . .but that's beside the point.) Time-out, no question. But in his eyes, he was justified. God, please remind me that it's not always like this. We have days of such joy, days of such sunny sillines, days of peace and play. Today was not one of those days. Today was filled with whining, crying, tattling, eye-poking, hair-grabbing, and a few plastic bats to the head. Oh, and the biting. Lord, the biting. My son is still weeping in the hallway as if his little heart will break, and that's enough for me, God. Forgive me, but I can't take it for the full five minutes, and neither can my poor, exhausted son. I hope you won't mind if we take a time-out from time-outs. Let this moment not stunt my progress in the discipline department. Please and thank you for understanding, Lord. I knew you would.
Amen
oh dear Lord please grant me and my friend the serenity not to scream, running down the road naked with a dirt colored lollipop dangling from our hair~thank you from another mother of a three yo~
ReplyDeleteStacey!! HAHAHAHA! This cracked me up! Thanks for the amended prayer! ;)
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