In that moment, I was so frustrated with my daughter. I did not want to kiss her on the head and tell her, I love you.
We had just gotten in a silly argument and she was being so irrational, so I was frustrated and impatient with her. I muttered in my mind for the Lord to help me.
I had a picture pop into my mind of kissing her on her head and saying, I love you.
I’m not kidding, I didn’t want to do it. I was mad.
But I knew I had to show her I loved her, no matter what, even in the middle of frustration.
When we pray, the Holy Spirit sure redirects our hearts, and that’s just what happened to me.
As my kids sat around the breakfast table, I went to each of my kids – first, to my other daughter who had been a delight all morning, and I easily kissed her on her head and said, I love you.
But, then it was time to walk to my second child, sitting at the far end of the table from us, by choice, eating her cereal.
I made myself walk over to her, kiss her on her head, and say, I love you. I love her so very much, but in that moment, it was hard, because I. was. frustrated.
But, I chose to show her that I love her through it all, even in the middle of frustration, because that’s what Jesus tells us to do.
He says that nothing can ever separate us from his love. And, I want my kids to know that nothing can separate them from my love.
Then, I walked over to my son and did the same.
Five minutes later, as I unloaded the dishwasher, my daughter, who earlier couldn’t get far enough away from us, walked over to me and said, “Please forgive me for how I acted.”
I was not expecting that. But, seeing my love for her, even when I was frustrated with her, lowered her defenses and calmed her heart.
She felt secure in my love and was able to apologize.
I told her I forgave her and then I apologized for being impatient myself. Because I know it takes two to tango and there’s always something I can do better too.
In these growing-up years, what I want my kids to learn is not perfect relationships with zero fighting (which is unattainable), but how to work through conflict, frustration, and bitterness to have healthier relationships.
I want them to know that love is a choice. That even when we don’t feel like it, Jesus calls us to love.
In the middle of our imperfections, Jesus chose to love us, and he wants us to do the same with our children.
Those everyday moments we choose to show our kids love no matter what, might seem tiny to us, but they’re actually really big to the Lord and to our kids, because we’re showing them the better way of love.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
#faith #parenting #beautifulheartedparenting
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If you missed my last email, I wanted to share that I just signed with Focus on the Family to publish my Mother/Daughter Devotional about women in the Bible fall 2021!!!
I’d love for you to be a part of the journey by being on my launch team for it, which just means sharing about the book with your friends when it comes out! (:
I’ll be sending a few updates to the team before it launches. A fun perk to being on the Launch Team is that you’ll be entered in a Giveaway for my devotional when it comes out!
To be a part of our Launch Team, just sign up here: Mother/Daughter Devotional Launch Team
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Linsey Driskill 