A word on our children's naivety and how it very well may be one of God's greatest extensions of grace towards us as parents.
Ever noticed how something that appears so obvious to you may go completely unnoticed by your kiddos? Or perhaps you are profoundly impacted by a scene in a movie and when you bring it up to your kids they don't even remember it? Yes, at times this can be infuriating, but I want to encourage you to adopt a new perspective on this childish oblivion.
If you read my Father's Day post (written just before the actually holiday) you may have this notion that perhaps Father's Day in our house more closely resembled a scene from "Leave It to Beaver," rather than the, shall we say, "Home Improvement" script that is so much closer to reality! (Obviously, I don't watch many current sitcoms! :) )
Once again, allow me to pull back the veil and bring you into the nitty-gritty of our all too "normal" family. Yes, Tim is an amazing dad and hubby. Yes, I am soooo thankful for him and find that I admire him more with each passing year. Be that as it may...we are two flawed, emotional, all-too-type-A, sometimes too similar for our own good, humans!
We had attended the Saturday night service at our church, and I went to bed with plans for a relaxing, doting Father's Day for my deserving husband. Somewhere between my head hitting the pillow and my feet hitting the floor the next morning irritation and annoyance must have broken in and set up camp in the corner of my mind. (And their brothers, frustration and irritation paid Tim a visit!)
It all started with Tim's favorite doughnuts...or at least a plan for them! Somehow I found myself, a little miffed, wearing shorts with paint on them, standing in a local doughnut shop with a less-than-thrilled with me, 6' 4.5" hungry man with a scowl and two anxious, scrabbling kids, looking at an all but empty doughnut case. Yep, they were out and for whatever reason (which I'm sure seemed important at the time) Tim and I were none too happy with each other and the kids were whining as we drug them from the doughnut shop, into the grocery, started at a mediocre at best display of so- so doughnuts and buying whatever they had so we could just get the heck out of there and get home to "enjoy" out breakfast! Happy Father's Day!
After having "intense moments of fellowship" most of the morning, Tim and I were desperately trying to make amends. So then we all go fishing. The kids get hot, then hungry, then bored, and interrupt mine and Tim's conversations about 12 times in 2 minutes to tell us so. Apparently all the fish in the Indian River had left for the day. Then Tim gets his line stuck in a tree. Then he brakes his line in said tree, and then, in a huff, proceeds to not-so-gently "place" his rod on the ground. Ok, fine! Let's go home! Happy Father's Day!
We attempted to salvage the rest of the day with a swim, and Tim and the kids managing to construct the tallest Jenga tower in history. All the while, Tim and I are attempting to get a grip on the emotions that have been barking at out minds all day. At one point Tim laments that he feels he ruined the whole day by getting frustrated, and I refuse to let him take the fall alone, knowing that my feelings were far from under control.
That night we sat down for dinner and the kids prayed, "Thank you, God for this wonderful Father's Day!" Then later on the phone with the grandparents they recount the day in glowing detail. "We had doughnuts, and went fishing. Then we swam and played games. It was the best Father's Day ever!"
Tim and I just looked at each other...WOW! That's God's grace! Here we were afraid we'd scarred them for life with our bickering and frustrations, and all they remember is the fun and the wonderful family time. God is so good!
Made me think, granted God is not going to act out and have unfettered emotional fits, but the world we live in is full of strife and anxiety and emotional roller coasters. What if we truly had that faith like a child and instead of letting all the craziness of the day catch our eye, we were so focused on how much our Daddy loves us, and how much we love Him. On all the awesome things He does for us and the numerous ways He shows His love over and over to us each day. What if, at the end of a trying day, all we could remember was the wonderful blessings God gave us that day? A warm bed. A wonderful family. A spouse that loves us. Hmmmm....there is always so much to learn from our kids!
