The artistic flair of washable marker was evidence that he’d been
there. I followed the evidence over the wall and behind the door.
Hearing the sshh-ing from the closet, I found the culprits. This was the
pinnacle of a not-so-great day.
It started off well enough and then slipped into chaos faster than
lightening strikes the ground.
Fights erupted. Retaliations started. Screaming, spitting, and pulling
hair. Once discipline had been handed out with heart-to-heart talks, I
thought things were going to calm down but honestly, a mom knows that
it’s just a matter of time before those lessons need to be re-learned.
It was about 3 minutes later when I heard the yelling and crying start
again and then it all went quiet. I thought, “Good, they’re learning to
work it out.” Man was I wrong. That’s when I became a hunter searching
for the elusive creatures and found the incriminating evidence that
demanded yet another lesson in humanities & biblical studies.
He ripped her paper. She sat on his head. He poked her with a pencil.
She threw his dinosaur at him. He grabbed the marker and went to town. I
think they both knew this was a big no-no because after that they worked
as a team to hide and protect one another.
Life with preschoolers can be amazing! It can also bring a mom to the
brink of saying goodbye to sanity.
This was a day in which I greatly needed God’s grace. I needed it as I
spoke to my kids, I needed it as I disciplined my kids, and I needed it
as I instructed them through the Bible.
God’s grace, extended to us, ushers us toward forgiveness and right
relationships with God himself & others. It provides a gentleness,
kindness & love in our hearts to extend to others.
Grace changes us.
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more
and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of
God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:15
God gave grace to me in the form of Jesus paying my penalty for sin so
that I receive the reward of faith not on my own merit – which is an
utter failure in comparison to His holiness – but simply because He
loved me. How shall I express this grace to my kids, knowing they
desperately need to experience grace but at the same time they also need
to learn obedience, respect, and selflessness?
You then, my child,
be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” — 2 Timothy
2:1
When they wake up from their naps, we will all take a deep breath and
ask God to help us speak softly and kindly. We will read more of the
Bible about the human tendency toward sin, our need for forgiveness
& how Jesus covered our sin and offers grace through faith.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,
nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the
power of God, who
saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but
because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus
before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of
our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel.” – 2 Timothy
1:8-10
Maybe the next mural they draw is one that we can leave there.
Photo credit: demandaj
via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
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Aren’t we so blessed to be covered with grace? Love this. And that photo is adorable. 🙂