Perseverance

Here's a post (and you all say, "Finally!!") of a slightly different nature. Since we live in a 2 bedroom house with 3 kids under the age of 5, bedtime can be...interesting to say the least. As I type this post, it is 9:51 and the kids have been in bed since 8:30. They are still awake! If they were lying quietly in bed waiting for the Sandman to take them away, that would be fine. The scenario at our house looks something like this: Madison (4) won't quit talking to Ryan (2), then they start fighting, then screaming, then Ryan slams the door shut which makes Madison scream even more. Aaron (5 mo.) wakes up crying and won't go back to sleep. Then the "I needa" game begins. Ryan wants juice, but settles for Wa-wa (water), then Madison is thirsty, then she has to go potty. Finally I had had it up to my eyeballs and put Madison on our bed. This is usually my last resort and works like a charm. Not tonight. I think I've been up and down the stairs enough times to qualify me for some sort of Guiness World Record.

The first time a child shouts for me, I calmly reply with "What?" After about the tenth time, it turns into, "WHAT!!!" and I'm sure all the neighbors can hear. I finally got smart and pulled out my Bible for some encouragement. I'm sure the battles are different at your house, but with young children, we can all use some encouragement about the role of perseverance.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5

Whoo! Talk about some encouraging words! What an incredible promise from God that if we persevere, our character will be enhanced and along with that, hope. I don't know about you, but some days hope is all I have left. Hope that my kids will become God-fearing young people. Hope that my kids will one day respect authority (even if they stick their tongues out at me today). The list goes on and on. I'll take some liberties with the verse and say that our perseverance not only produces character in us, but in our children as well.

Well, it's now 10:03 and I hear no more crying coming from upstairs. Thank you God for the patience and perseverance to win yet another small parenting battle. Now if only I can remember this lesson until tomorrow night when it starts all over again.