My wife had a dentist appointment today, which meant that I would be the only parent home to watch our three children. Seeing as I will be going back to work in less than a month I have been cautious to not complain about being home alone to watch our children as soon my wife will be doing the same but full time.
It was during this time that my 2 month had his first bowel movement in about four days. And boy was there some movement. It moved outside the diaper, through his clothes, and onto his receiving blanket. At the same time, my two year old daughter also had her movement. While I was trying to clean up my newborn son, my four year old son turned off his ears and turned the basement upside down. Before I was done changing the first diaper, my four year old made his way upstairs and parked himself onto the toilet and joined in on the fun. Meanwhile, my daughter made her way to the main floor and started to turn that floor upside down.
Then the phone rang. My wife was coming home shortly. I needed to get everything cleaned up before she got home.
I was so frustrated and I lost my cool and half-yelled at my older two children for making a mess.
It was during the evening when I had my shower that I thought about all that happened. Then the thought crossed my mind - if Jesus had children, how would he have handled all this? I first thought of how Jesus let the children come to him, and how he was so kind to them. "But he was only with them for a little bit, not all day" I thought to myself. "It's kind of like when grandparents see your children for a little bit - that's easier when you can hand the children back to the parents," I reasoned to myself.
Then just as quickly I received my answer. I'm adopted. By Jesus. I'm his child. Not only that, but he has millions of adopted children - many who at times make a mess of things and stop listening to Him, just like me.
Wow. So that means that Jesus would have been patient, kind, not rude, not easily angered, and would have persevered, and wouldn't have failed.
All the things I wasn't. I wish I thought about all of this during the situation - it would have made for a much more pleasant morning for everyone.
Spot on Jason. Before I started the read I was gonna comment what you concluded in the last three paragraphs. That is exactly how I try to do it but far from it. Tip: give yourself the extra time to be patient and kind and laugh at everything that would easily anger you. You'll find it healthy and refreshing for yourself and your kids will always be at ease. Here is an article I came across before my first born human (dog is the first child)... http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1940395-1,00.html
ReplyDeleteRohit
It's funny how some scenarios bring out different qualities of a person - both good and bad qualities. For example, had I had some additional sleep then maybe I wouldn't have been so edgy. In the end though, there's no excuse - Jesus stood before his accusers with no sleep and still maintained His love for people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the link with me Rohit.