Nobody Said It Was Easy

Being a Mommy is hard and some days are harder than others.  Some days you just feel like you can’t do anything right.  Sunday was one of those frustrating days. It was filled with toddler tantrums and lots of tears.  I felt like I was a repeating record of “no, no, no”.  There was time-out (multiple times) and even a spanking.  Kate is such a strong-willed child.  I know we have got our work cut out for us.  She has definitely hit the terrible two’s a bit earlier than we had expected.

Some days you are just glad for bedtime to come. Some days you are just ready for the next day to be here. Some days you just want your happy, easy-going child to come back.

Being a mom of a toddler is not easy.  The smallest things can set them off.  They’re learning.  They know what they WANT to do, they just don’t know how to do it.  They know what they WANT to say, they just don’t know how to communicate that.

So I get that a lot of times, her tantrums are just frustration-related.  She will be building with blocks and accidentally knock them over and then completely freak-out.  Or she’ll be pushing her cozy coupe car around the house, hit the wall, and not be able to turn it the way she wants so she’ll flip out. She’s frustrated and doesn’t know how to express herself. I get it.

But, a lot of times she has tantrums just from not getting her way.  She is testing her limits, and pushing buttons.  I’ll tell her “don’t put that in your mouth” and she’ll take it out.  Then she’ll wait five seconds before she slowly tries to put the object back in her mouth, just to test my reaction. And the cycle continues until she ends up getting the object taken away from her.  And then tears ensue.

But I can’t give in.  And that’s the hard part.  Giving in would be SO much easier.  Just letting her “do what she wants” would be so much easier.  But what would that teach her?

Don’t we do the same thing with God?  We keep on pushing.  We keep on testing.  We try to get “our” way.  We get frustrated when we don’t get what we want.  We want to be the ones in control.  We’re just like little toddlers.

So as I parent Kate, I have to remember the ways that God teaches us.  I must be strong and know that He will give me strength.  I have to not get discouraged and remember that Kate will be a better person because of discipline.  And as she learns to submit to the authority of her parents who love her, I pray that one day she will submit to Jesus Christ who loves her so much more.

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
Proverbs 22:6