{Today’s guest post is from Kristi Stephens. See her full bio below & give her a big MOB welcome!}
I saw the look in his eyes and it cut me to the heart.
LB, my 3 year old I often affectionately call my “wild thing,” was being… a three year old boy. Such a three year old boy, in fact, that I was teetering on the edge of sanity, clinging to the end of a rapidly fraying rope.
I yelled in exasperation. I saw my reaction mirrored in his precious face and it made me want to weep – what he saw in his mother was not love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control… what he saw and heard in me was irritation, anger, pride (because wasn’t what I was doing more important than tending to his three-year-old-ness at that moment?), impatience, harshness. The reflection wasn’t pretty.
Lately I have found myself pondering what motherhood was like for Jesus’ mother Mary. This young girl who was half my age was raising God in flesh. She sat with the One who had spoken the universe into being, her soft cheek pressed next to his chubby one, and said slowly and deliberately, “liiiggghhhhttt – can you say, ‘light?’”
In this fascinating parent-child relationship, He was the one who had created her, she was the one who had carried Him. He was the spotless one – she was a normal human being who wrestled with impatience and frustration like the rest of us.
What was Jesus like when He was three years old? Did His eyes sparkle with playfulness, did He sometimes fail to sit still, to use an ‘inside voice,’ to control the urge to move? Did He follow her about the house, constantly underfoot, constantly hanging on her robe, constantly… there? He was never disobedient, of course – but He, in His perfect humanity, was three once, too. Did Mary lose her patience when His noise was so noisy, His energy so energetic?
You see, as I parent, I am training my children to know what is right and wrong, yes. I want them to love what is good and hate what is evil, I want to guide them in the path of righteousness. But more and more I find that I am the often the object of sanctification in this relationship – often they are not being sinful, they are being children. I am the one who is in the wrong. I am the one seeking forgiveness. I am the one who has failed to rein in my tongue and temper and frustration.
Parenting is an exhausting exercise in sanctification. But we serve a God whose grace is greater than our sin – whose love can cover over it all. Girls, our kids see us on our ugly days – when we see our ugliness reflected in those precious eyes, it’s time to look into His. It’s time to ask Him to not only show us how to train our children in the way they should go, but also to conform us this day more into the image of His dear Son. And may the reflection we see in those eyes each day look more and more like Jesus as time goes by.
Kristi Stephens blogs at KristiStephens.com, walking with women into the riches of God’s Word, helping them develop a bigger view of our awesome God. She is a wife of nine years, homemaker, and mom to 5 year old daughter AG, 3 year old wild thing LB, and five month old baby brother BW.
This is so very precious, filled with humble, truth-seeking glimpses of a mother’s heart. Yes, it is all about our sanctification! And isn’t it amazing how the very process He designed in mothering is what He uses to mature us into His Image. I so often lose sight of the true goal of this arduous journey, 24 years and counting. But He is so very Faithful to redeem it all when I bring it to Him. I am richly blessed!
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I’m sure Jesus was a 3-year-old boy – he was fully human and fully God. That includes a little bit of that energy, orneriness (not the sinful kind but the boy kind). And think about Mary and Joseph’s reaction when he was 12 and was left behind when they were visiting Jerusalem? They were impatient and nervous and worried about him, too. I’m sure they were when he was a little one too.
S Club Mama´s last [type] ..Whats in the Cats Hat game review
For me as a mom, it was really hard to tell the difference between “just being three” and “being a sinner”. Thinking about Jesus as a three year old is very interesting. Thanks for the article.
Parenting sure is sanctifying! Humbled each day by the opportunities God gives me to grow!
Sandra´s last [type] ..Walk in the Woods
“Parenting is an exhausting exercise in sanctification. But we serve a God whose grace is greater than our sin”
Thank you for this article. I am so thankful that God’s grace is greater than our sin. Thank you for this website. It is much needed. It seems there are many websites to ecourage mothers raising daughters but not many for mothers and sons. I am a girlie girl raising 4 little men. I am thankful to have found a place where I can be encouraged as I try to raise godly men.
So, so good. What an encouragement for us parents. I too am delighting in a three year old (accompanied by his 15 month old brother). I understand, relate and and so thankful for your words. A blessing post. ~Jessica
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Beautifully said. I struggle daily with the line between boys just being “boys” and when it crosses into needing true discipline. Lord, give us wisdom! He is so gracious with us. May I grow in sanctification as I learn how to love & mother these little ones well…
Emily´s last [type] ..My mission
Oh wow. That hit home. I don’t have boys, but I have girls that are just as rowdy and underfoot as boys at times. I totally relate to “they are not being sinful, they are being children” and I hate that I am the one being sinful. This is something I struggle with on a daily basis.
Lindsay´s last [type] ..What a weekend…
I just linked to your post on my blog at http://comewearymoms.blogspot.com/2011/05/friday-favorites-7-and-emerging-from.html
(Friday Favorites #7 and Emerging from the Fog)