The Maturity of a 3 Year Old...

I learned an important lesson tonight from my three year old.  Let me first give you a little background about her.  Auburn has a long, slender "green bean" build, blond hair (often matted up in the back!), smiley blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a button nose.  I must admit that underneath all that sparkle of a personality is a little pistol!  She can be like a fussy water faucet. You just never know what is gonna come out of that girl...hot, warm or cold!  Some days she likes the simple things in life like; muffins, apples and raisins...the very next day it is smoked oysters, shrimp and calamari!  On Sunday's, she will wear fancy hair bows and on Monday it's a stained up t-shirt and a high-water jeans! 

As I home school her older siblings, I can find her happily in her bedroom for hours playing dolls, pet shop or coloring.  She can completely entertain herself, because she knows exactly what she wants and how it should be done correctly!!!  The truth about sweet, little, adoring Auburn is that she does a wonderful job of being the boss!  It makes her skin crawl when other people stomp on her playing ground!  For example; touch her toys, move her blankets, sleep on her bed, mess with her hair or change the rules of "her"game.  That selfish nature becomes a monster if it is not properly disciplined!

So the important life lesson I came to grips with tonight is that, I AM JUST LIKE AUBURN!  I can be a fun-loving and a carefree spirit that happily goes about my business, until someone or something gets in my way!  Oh my...  what a humbling thing to realize!  I have the maturity of a three year old!  Just like she is screaming because she didn't get the "bigger" half... I am cringing because I didn't get the better deal!  Just like she is crying because she isn't sitting in the front seat, I am complaining because I don't have control in a particular situation.  Just like she is fighting with her siblings over a silly toy, I have an inward battle of not getting things my way!  As I painfully dealt with my third child's bi-polar personality this weekend, I was awakened to a new level of self-awareness and God-awareness! 

If I am in my world, where I can be the boss, be in control, spend my time doing what I want...I am happy.  And then a few seconds later it changes.  I am like that fussy, whining, un-happy preschooler who feels emotional about every "little" situation.    WOW!  How pitiful the truth of my sin is!  And then there is God, a  loving Father constantly dealing with my yucky behavior and loving me through it!  He allows me to make bad decisions and face the consequences, because He knows I will learn from them!  God knows that by disciplining me, He is making me a better wife, friend and parent.  He patiently loves me in the midst of my tempers!  He has a tough-love for me.  He doesn't let me get away with my self-absorption!  He keeps turning me back to Him, helping me to obey and follow His gentle lead.

So I thank God for revealing this truth to me.  We are all like toddlers, constantly wanting more...more...more...unhappy with our end of the bargain.  And God comes over to us and says, "NO.  That is enough.  Be happy with what you have."  I tell my kids this all the time, "You get what you get and don't throw a fit".  Now if only I would listen to that same phrase!