Last evening my wife and I had the privilege of taking care of our granddaughter, while her mommy and daddy went to visit a dear friend of theirs in the hospital that had given birth to twin boys. Wonderful and exciting times lie ahead for these brand new parents...double trouble, but twice the fun.
Raising one child is a challenge in itself, but two at the same time—and everyone said, “Oh me, oh my!” Our daughter and son-in-law are coming along side this young couple to assist in anyway they can, which means a lot to first time parents that need support and helpful input from other young parents.
It is always a joyful and memorable time whenever our grandchildren come to stay at our house, whether for a sleep-over or just a short visit. We want to build wonderful and lasting memories in them that will be remembered in years to come.
The peace in our home, and the love and coddling that we shower on each of them will forever have a positive influence in their lives. Pampering and spoiling them rotten is just an added benefit of being a grandparent. Another big plus in grand-parenting is being able to send these bundles of joy home with their parents after having spoiled the little guys to pieces.
Indulging our grandchildren does not negate the need for Nana and Papa, as we are called, to reinforce and support the wishes of their mommy and daddy with regards to teaching discipline and respect for others. This is a must in character building not only in opinionated and strong willed children, but the passive and reserved ones as well.
For those grandparents that, for whatever reason, find themselves the custodial caregivers of their grandchildren and perhaps the ones raising them; "Hats off to you!" May God bless you and grant strength and wisdom where it's needed in this time of giving.
While babysitting our granddaughter I observed something interesting that brought back memories from the past when my wife and I were raising our three kids. In our efforts to raise responsible, obedient children, challenges occasionally arose. I saw in my granddaughter some of the same traits and challenges that we faced when raising ours—the battle for power. Back then it was called “the terrible twos.” I don’t know what it’s called today.
My granddaughter is as adamant in her relentless endeavors of “testing the waters” as were my three children. She does very well most of the time in not touching the items that Nana has displayed on the coffee table in the family room, but when the little stinker gets it in her head that she wants to touch the decor, that’s when the wills are tested.
She pitches her will against ours, wanting to see just how far she can go and how much she can get by with. She gets as close to the line as possible; pushing the envelope of our patience, which creates the situations that we have to work through.
Our darling sweetheart was determined to win and have her way as she displayed defiance, not so much in grabbing a fragile, glass container, though she did that earlier, she insisted on touching it with just the tip of her index finger, while her eyes were fixed on mine, with her lips pressed tightly together.
She pitches her will against ours, wanting to see just how far she can go and how much she can get by with. She gets as close to the line as possible; pushing the envelope of our patience, which creates the situations that we have to work through.
Our darling sweetheart was determined to win and have her way as she displayed defiance, not so much in grabbing a fragile, glass container, though she did that earlier, she insisted on touching it with just the tip of her index finger, while her eyes were fixed on mine, with her lips pressed tightly together.
This display of rebellion tickled me. I was laughing on the inside as I tried to distract and dissuade her by changing the venue. She was saying by her actions, “I’m going to touch it whether you like it or not.” All of my coxing, urging, talking nicely, and even trying to reason with her were fruitless. I’ve seen the same look on my kid's faces that seemed to express, “What are you going to do about it?”
It was a test of the wills—her will against mine—until a voice from the left of me sounded out, “Do you want me to tell your daddy?” Although she was close to the line of demarcation, stepping over it at times, the event changed course immediately. Her stare turned to blinking as she turned toward the voice, while lifting her petite finger off the glass container.
Nana had the remedy for her disobedience. I wish you could have seen the look on her little face. Her countenance said it all. Daddy must have had a father/daughter talk with her before he left for the hospital, because things got better all of a sudden. He must have told her to be good…or else. We all know what that means. It brought back memories of the directives that I gave to my children when they were young, especially before going to someone's house.
Every once in a while I find myself playing these same juvenile antics with God. Even though I know something is off limits to me, I manipulate my thinking in such a way that obtaining it becomes an okay thing for me to do, while I know in the back of my mind that it’s wrong. In my attempt to possess the temptation, I allow my eyes to glare over and stare in God’s direction, at the same time improvising a plan to acquire whatever it is that I want.
When opposition to my thought process becomes too much for me to continue justifying my actions, which is called conviction, I still insist on keeping my finger on it, hoping that my persistence will sooner or later pay off. The Holy Spirit then speaks loudly into my ears saying, “Do you want me to tell your Father?” That’s when reality and obedience kicks in, bringing back clarity of vision once again as I remove my finger from the tantalizing distraction.
We know in our heart that God doesn’t want us to do a certain thing, yet we defy His authority and think that we know what’s best for us. All the while, God is trying to get our attention; attempting to divert us from danger that will harm us and bring heartache, but we refuse to listen or see the warnings. Sometimes He has to flick our disobedient hands to help us realize that He means business.
God explains in the Bible the reasons why He creates a hedge of protection around us and why we shouldn’t cross over these boundaries. It’s not that He doesn’t want us to enjoy life and have a good time; on the contrary, He knows when we listen to Him and yield ourselves to His loving authority that life takes on new meaning, while true happiness prevails.
My granddaughter didn’t see the harm in playing with the glass container, but we did. It was pretty and desirable to her, but she only saw its beauty and not the danger associated with broken glass, should she drop it.
There were other, more enjoyable things to play with in the toy box that would have given her pleasure and be less threatening, regarding safety. She saw me as someone not wanting her to be happy and fulfilled, because she couldn’t see the danger. We too want things that are not in our best interest at times and perhaps fail to see the danger in possessing them, but God does, and He says, “No!”
God doesn’t take something away without giving something greater in its place. God has a storehouse full of beautiful and wonderful things that He wants to impart into our bosom, much like the toy box. When we desire things, and the beauty of their enticement is overwhelming, God understands our temptation to rebel. Nothing takes Him by surprise, whether it is the look we give Him or the words that we say, such as, “But I want it!”
God sees our defiant, juvenile antics each time we try to usurp His directives, yet God in love, patiently redirects our thinking and restores peace and contentment once again. He is our Heavenly Father who knows how to deal with His children? He loves us with a never ending love and is protecting our soul from injury when He discourages our feeble attempts to rebel.
It’s not that God doesn’t want us to have a good time and be happy when He says no; it is because He cares for us in a remarkable measure of greatness. It far exceeds even the love we have for our own children and grandchildren. Because of love, I enforce the teachings and rules of Mommy and Daddy, while my grandchildren are in my care; just as Jesus enforces our Father’s teachings and rules now that we are in His care.
In that we are children of God, if we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we must obey His voice just as we expect our children and grandchildren to obey ours. It prevents juvenile antics from becoming a part of our spiritual walk with the Lord.
(Ephesians 6:1-4), “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” vs.2 “Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: vs.3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” vs.4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
(Proverbs 22:6), “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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