What Parenting Teaches Me #29: Just Plain Mean
No matter how much I repeat scripture, create behavior charts, intervene, teach, discipline, reason, repeat myself, and express disapproval to Noah and Anna for how selfishly, impatiently, and meanly they interact, they still are just so mean to each other. They try to be good, but in the next instant they forget and are back behaving instinctively selfish.
Sigh.
It's just at our core. Humans. We are sinful - aka mean. So what was I thinking? That I could just preach the sin right out of them? Not a chance. No matter how much I revere and model and practice my favorite parenting book's advice (sorry, Ginger), those kids are still gonna be sinful.
That is what parenting has taught me this week (who are we kidding - this summer!). My kids, we humans, us all. We are just plain mean. Sin is just mean, coming and going. Just. Plain. Selfish. and. Mean.
Sometimes you just have to let them work it out. I don''t mean ignoring
ReplyDeletephysical violence but they are interacting and learning about human behavior themselves. They will grow up being close and loving each other, you just watch. Better than not having much of a relationship because of wide age differences. Yes, we humans ( Christians included ) are just plain mean sometimes but God convicts if we belong to HIM.
Well, that's true. All I have left to do ... is pray he convicts them sooner!
ReplyDeleteOR pray that God gives you much patience!
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, maybe that. Only maybe.
ReplyDelete