Saturday is spent cramming in as much family time, fun activities, errands, shopping, home improvements, birthday parties, and cleaning as possible! By the end of the day after bathing your dirty, sweaty kids (or not), fighting with them to eat their healthy dinner after a day of junk food, and getting them to actually stay in bed to sleep you just want to curl up under your covers and sleep for eternity. But you cant. Tomorrow is Sunday. The day you get up early and wrestle the kids in nice church clothes, praying they don't stain them with food before you're out the door.
Our Sunday started off unusual today though. Our oldest woke up at a decent time, crawled in bed with us and cuddled sweetly until it was time to get up and get ready. This was not normal. Usually he gets up before 7, climbs in bed, and immediately starts whining and crying for milk. Once I sleepily walk to the kitchen and get it for him, I crawl back in bed hoping I can get 5 more minutes of sleep before he needs something else...nope. "CHEERIOS" he cries. Again I'm up dragging my bare feet across the cold morning floor for a bag of cheerios. I climb in bed once more. He waits until I'm covered up..."VEGGIE TALES!!"
Yeah..those are our mornings...every morning.
Like I said though, this morning was pleasant. No crying, whining, or leaky diapers. Just cuddles and a few more shut eyes before it was time to get up and get ready for church. Both babies let us dress them with ease. They both ate a good breakfast without begging for something else. We got out the door, grabbed a quick drink at Starbucks and even made it to church with enough time to sit in the car and enjoy our drinks before going in.
We walked in the building and my husband says, "Wow the kids did great this morning, no screaming or tantrums!".....That was the kiss of death. It sealed the deal.
It was one of our worst behaved Sundays in a while. Zach was up with our screaming six month old who didn't want to eat, sleep, or be held. I was picking up toy after toy being thrown on the ground, and made the "walk of shame" down the auditorium three times to discipline my restless two year old. People were staring (or at least I thought they were) and I was frustrated...it was rough.
I know you who have kids have all dealt with this. The long walks to the bathroom from the front pew. The screaming, hungry baby who is teething. The child who wants to get up and play instead of sit in a seat listening to a sermon for an hour. It's inevitable. Some days I feel like "This kid is never going to get it!" I think to myself "Do I discipline too much, too little? What am I doing wrong."
But then there are small moments like today. The moment when the song leader sings "Holy Lord." My son has never heard this song. Maybe when he was a baby, but not in a while. I make him stand when we sing and face the front. Usually he isn't paying much attention. He will hold a toy or his blankie in his hands and sway back in forth in boredom. But not today. Today as we we're singing, I hear a little voice sing out from the bottom of his heart "Holy Lord, most holy Lord. You alone are worthy of my praise!" (Okay, it didn't sound that perfect but if I wrote it out the way he said it, most of you would see jibberish) But It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. That was the moment I realized I wasn't doing it wrong. I am doing it right.
Though Sunday's can be rough, and Monday's, and Tuesday's, and everyday. There are moments like this that validate I am doing it right.
My son already has a knowledge of Jesus. He loves Him. He prays to Him. He wishes to make Him happy. He talks about Jesus just about everyday. And while I find myself getting frustrated at my son's two year old behavior, and I think I must be doing something wrong, God gives me moments like these when my son sings with all his might to our Father. He gives me these moments to say "You are doing it right. You are teaching your child to love Me, to follow Me, to Obey Me."
My son is two. And while I wish, hope, and pray he would immediately obey me every time, not get mad at his sister, not throw fits, I know it is all part of learning and growing.
So as you go through your stressful days, know that you ARE doing it right! Love God and show your children how to love God. The rest will fall into place in time. You are strong through Christ.