Well it was a rough morning at the Harrison household. The crisis: Katelyn didn't want to get her hair brushed. I'll leave out most of the details of the crisis and give you with a brief summary.
1. We only have so much time in the morning before we leave for school.
2. Katelyn wouldn't obey us.
3. We left later than usual for school, but still made it on time.
4. I learned more than she did.
We're into the second week of school and the kids have been pretty good so far, except for one rough morning last week, but that's another story. The picture above is from her first day of 1st grade, notice the smile and missing teeth. There wasn't much smiling this morning
There came a point this morning where I realized that this was not a 'quick' fix, rather this was something that was going to take a little while, even being late for school. After the usual "you're mean" and "you're hurting my feelings" we were able to make some progress. After telling her to get in the car, she ran to her room and hid in the closet. Up to that point, one of my primary goals was to just get her to school and move on. Obviously, it moved beyond that now. At that point I had to 'invest' in the relationship a little. I'm not going to say what happened in the room, but it ended with her crying and me holding her in my arms telling her how much I love her.
Now here's my question: Who was teaching who in that moment? I would not have planned to have that happen this morning, I would've avoided it at all costs, I did try to avoid it, so did Stephanie, but there came a point where I couldn't. I think that in the midst of the situation God was teaching me more about Himself than I was teaching Katelyn. Let me explain that a little.
God has revealed to us everything we need in this age and the age to come in His Word. Many times we choose to go our own way and God corrects us. He'll do this in a variety of ways, sometimes when we least expect it. Because He made us, we belong to Him and the ironic thing is that when we do as He asks we are actually doing what's best for us. We of course are stubborn in our ways and ignore Him as if we are smarter than Him and know what's best. If you are a child of God who has confessed your sin and trusted in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, then He will discipline you. If you are not a child of God and are wandering in your own direction, you are in a dangerous place. God may get your attention in ways you might not expect it, but then again, he may let you live with your own choices.
I did not want to discipline Katelyn this morning, I just wanted to take her to school, but in the process, he taught me many things.
Like Katelyn, I have disobeyed and tried to go my own way
Like Katelyn, I ran from God, trying to hide
Like Katelyn, I did not want to own up to my sin
Like Katelyn, God pursued me because He loves me
Unlike Katelyn, God did more than give me a spanking, He sent His Son to be crucified.
Notice that this is true both for those who trust in the Lord the first time, but also for the believer who has been a disciple for a long time.
Being a parent is not easy. It is very challenging and can be very humbling. I'm sure that there will be more mornings like this morning. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn about being a dad. As I held Katelyn in my arms, I told her how much I love her, and realized that it's minimal in comparison to the love God has for me and has shown through the death of Jesus.
Definitely Grace undeserved!
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