Katie was having a hard time putting her jacket on the other day. Since my daughter is a huge over reactor, she threw the jacket on the floor and shouted, “I hate this jacket!!” As we all know, jackets, in general, are not secretly conspiring to drive preschoolers crazy, so I tried to explain to her that she didn’t need to be upset, but rather she needed to be patient with the jacket.
Often, when I try to teach something to my children I realize that I’m actually teaching something to myself. I believe that at one point in my life I prayed for patience, and God chuckled and sent me five children. I wish I could say that it’s helped, but patience is something I still struggle with on a daily basis. And even though I do believe that children are secretly conspiring to drive their parents crazy, I think the trick to avoiding a grown up temper tantrum when they do something I don’t like, is to treat them with patience.
After all, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). If I love my kids, and I do, I will strive to treat them with patience, and kindness, to love them selflessly and keep no record of wrongs. But the trouble comes when I think I can do it all on my own. It’s important to remember that God is Love (1John 4:8), so it naturally follows that, “God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not proud. God does not dishonor others, God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs” [emphasis mine]. He is the example we should look to when we’re trying to navigate this journey called motherhood. He will show us how to be patient with our kids, because He is patient with us. He will show us how to be slow to anger, because He is slow to anger. He will show us how to love selflessly by reminding us of how He gave His only Son to die on the cross and rise again so we can live with Him forever.
So the next time a jacket seems to be attacking your little one, remember the importance of teaching patience, to both of you.
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