I have two sons...one is 8 and the other is 4. This is about the younger son. We had a leisurely morning. Then the three of us met my DH for lunch. He took the two boys to his afternoon work appointment and then to Cabella's for some window-shopping, guy-style. It's been a relaxing evening.
Well, the younger son had a splinter in his finger and didn't want me to take it out. He showed it to me but didn't want me to touch it. He was afraid of the pain that might be there if I pulled it out. I asked him to let me see it and I promised that I wouldn't touch it. He was worried that I would go back on my word. So I worked with him until he let me see it. Then I pointed out that I kept my word and I had him put a bandaid on it (this was before dinner).
After the boys had their shower, he was sitting in my lap in his comfy jammies. I had grabbed nailclips to trim his nails and a pair of tweezers. The splinter needed to come out before it became infected or embedded. At first, he let me hold his hand. When he saw the tweezers, he froze with fear and pulled his hand away. I asked him if he wanted to be a big brave boy or if I needed Daddy to help hold him. He agreed to be brave...until he saw the tweezers again. So I set the tweezers down in order to get him to calm down. He admitted that he was scared. I replied, "You're scared." Then I calmed him down and asked him again if he wanted to be a brave boy. He said yes. So I had him look at an object in the opposite direction and talked to him while I quickly pulled the splinter out. He was so relieved that he cried with joy! He was so glad that it was gone and over and he didn't have to worry about it. He was so proud that he was brave. I reiterated that being brave means that you do something even when you are scared. and I pointed out that Mommy will always be truthful about things with him. I had him go tell Daddy how brave he was and could hear how happy he was with himself when he did.
How many times has God wanted me to be brave and do something scary and I didn't trust Him? If I ask my 4 year old to trust me, how much more can I trust my Heavenly Father? Infinitely! I need to remember this moment with my child so that I will have the courage to be brave when my Father asks of me something of which I'm afraid. FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real.
Then, he had another moment that was great. He wrote the word "MOM" and he knew what he was writing. He asked me the other day to write "mommy." Instead, I had him hold the crayon while I wrote "MOM" and I said each letter as I wrote it. Of course, when he showed Daddy, Daddy was enthusiastic. And I was proud that he remembered! And he was thrilled that he had learned something.
How much more does our Heavenly Father cheer when we learn His ways and then act on them? So much more!
And finally, my younger son asks me if we can have secret passageways in our house for their Nerf wars. Of course my answer is no because it would mean cutting through walls. And it's a reminder to me that when my Heavenly Father says "No," there is a very good reason, even if I don't always know what that is.
Was the day perfect? Oh no, not by any stretch. But it won't be those parts that I remember. The ones written above are the memories.
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