During bath time, my 3 year old asked for the plastic cup I’d used to rinse his hair. I found myself telling him no because he was more tired than usual, and I know him. If I’d given him that cup, he would have promptly used it to scoop up a floor-soaking amount of bubble-filled bathwater to dump over the side of the tub. Sure, there is that off-chance that he may not have, but again, I know him. When he is as tired as he was then, he is very prone to such actions. He’s 3. They do that. (Don’t worry, he’ll have plenty of chances to pour water later.)
While this was not an uncommon occurrence, it struck me differently as I heard myself explaining. “If I gave it to you, you’d be tempted to dump it out of the tub, but I love you and I really don’t want you to get yourself in trouble.”
Since my days at this stage in my life are most frequently ruled by interactions with my children, God uses these interactions to give me another glimpse of His love for us.
Have you ever had a door slammed in your face, only to beg and beg God to open it for you? “Can I pleeeeease have the cup?!”
Is there anything in your life right now that you are begging God for but not stopping to listen for His answer to your heart?
Are you spiritually tired and asking for something that would just serve to get you into trouble, or there’s a chance it just might not be best for you?
God loves you. He doesn’t tell us no just to be “mean.”
On the flip side, as God gives me more and more glimpses of His love for us, I’m continually doing my best to attempt to love like God loves me*. I’m trying to lovingly set boundaries when I know giving in most likely won’t end well. I’m trying to not set my children up to fail: by saying no or redirecting attention in another direction before a situation escalates. I’m trying. I’m learning, and I’m trying.
What interactions do you face regularly which are most difficult for you to lovingly set boundaries?
*note… ATTEMPT…. I am human, after all (but that won’t keep me from trying)!