Gabriel Lucas has reached the ripe age of 2 1/2 this fall...a fun age, a hard age. Lately he's either very happy or very--not happy. Kind of like the little rhyme about the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead..."When she was good, she was very, very good but when she was bad, she was horrid." I think I've quoted that little rhyme between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 often with all the kids.
First we have the "NO" saga. Nearly everything out of his mouth is "no". Most of the time with an attitude. And when he lowers his brow and glares at me, I just pick him up and plop him in the nearest time out area until he can "be sweet". I think whoever thinks that little children are innocent needs to come and visit our house for an hour! Then, as I sit there getting frustrated at the umpteenth time he's been on his "NO" bandwagon during the day, I have to see how often I say "NO" to the Lord. No, I don't want to be patient. No, I don't want to control my tongue. No, I don't want to do my work. No, I don't want to obey. No, no, no. I guess I need some time sitting in my "time out" spot letting the Lord work on my attitude too.
Next we have the tendency to not listen, not acknowledge, and ignore any adult giving instructions. He's quick to obey if it's "come and get a snack" or "let's go for a ride in the truck" but suddenly, the child is deaf when it's "put your cup on the counter" or "pick up your shoes". The result is a mama or daddy that goes over to Gabe and takes his hand walks him over to do what was asked...kicking and screaming if needed. Sometimes it takes a time out if the resistance is prolonged and it takes 10 times as long to get the simple task done. And then I realize...yep, sure enough, that's exactly what I do to God. If He says, "Go to church and worship with your friends" or "Sing a praise song with the radio"...no problem. When he says, "Go talk to someone you don't know well" or "Go apologize and ask forgiveness of your husband"...well that's a good time to turn a deaf ear. And then what does the Holy Spirit do? He nags...keeps dragging me over sometimes kicking and screaming inside with a bad attitude.
Finally we have the "nobody but Mama" issues. Gabe has always been the easy one for going with people. He's the one that liked the nursery much better than the others. He's the one who LOVED his daddy to distraction and would run to meet him whenever he saw him. He's the one who would take his brother or sister's hand and go off on an adventure without a look back. Not so much right now. Now if Mama thinks she will leave his sight during naptime or heaven forbid, leave the house for a meeting...it's major meltdown with cries of "Mama, Com'ere!" I thought we were supposed to be moving toward independence! But after much reflection...I think I can learn much about insisting on Jesus' presence alone instead of all the others who can't satisfy from Gabe. Not that I can take the place of the Lord for him, but at this juncture, I am the security, the most familiar, the one who is there though bad and good, the one to run to for help for Gabe. And shouldn't the Lord be that for me?
All in all, 2 1/2 is a steep climb nearly every day. There are surely times when he uses a big word or does something new and his face lights up that we laugh and clap along. (You wouldn't believe the party we have when he goes poop in the toilet!) But some days when he's finally down for a nap I have to sigh in relief for a little respite. Most days by the time he's down for the night I have to collapse into my bed too with no energy or thinking power to spare. But it gets me in good communication with God even if it's frequently..."Lord, I need some HELP!". It's good to see that God sees me in a lot of ways the way I see Gabe...but he's never out of energy or patience. Thank you, Lord, for that!
