Saturday, January 11, 2014

I Get It!

  3. God loves us soooo much. He is not trying to squelch our fun!

My granddaughter and I had one of those " battle of the wills". She wanted a pretzel stick and I wanted her to finish her apple. Sounds pretty silly. This grandma has everything a little person would want. Cookies, candy, ice cream and chips but the only rule that goes along with those delicacies is you must eat something good for you first.

Granddad cut the apple up in several sections, giving a couple to each of the 3 grandchildren. The 7 yr old gobbled his apple sections right down, the 4 year old soon after but the 2 year old refused to finish her second piece after seeing the other two rewarded with a long pretzel stick. "I want a prethel! I want a Prethel!" You can't have a pretzel until you finish your apple. "Nooooooo!" Tears popping out of ducts, feet and arms swinging. "I Want a PRETHEL!"

Sound familiar? If you're a parent or a grandparent I'm sure you have had the opportunity to witness and/or enter the battle of the wills. Ok so this turned into a battle that I picked! O dear.... I lifted my granddaughter off the stool and sat her in time out. I held on to her while she screamed and kicked. In a calm voice I said "Katelynn, Go Go loves you and I want you to have a pretzel. Look at me. I WANT you to have a pretzel, but you have to eat your apple first."

Really.. that's all it took. She wanted to know I wanted her to have the pretzel! Some how in her little mind when I said she can't have a pretzel until she finishes her apple, all she heard was "she CAN'T". She sat right back up on her stool and finished her apple and soon after was rewarded with the pretzel stick.

We sure don't like the word "can't" at any age. And we definately want what we want! Are you wondering how I got my third life lesson "God loves us so much. He is not trying to squelch our fun?" Well go back and put yourself in the story. You be the grandaughter and your parent is God. How many decisions have you made that you insisted on doing or having what you wanted and those decisions may not have been the best choice for you? In some things we are like a 2 year old. We don't really know what's good for us and in some things we know exactly what we are doing but don't heed the warning that there will be a consequence down the road. That consequence almost always effects ourself negatively and the people we love. God knows that, just like I know my granddaughter should eat the apple first. I can hear you. What's so bad about a pretzel? Nothing..but in her case if she eats too many simple carbs it can cause some painful elimination down the road, if you know what I mean:) God WANTS you have the things you desire, but maybe done in moderation or maybe you need to wait or maybe its just not the best for you. He's got all the cakes and cookies you could want out of life. He's really not a big bad god whose trying to take all your fun away. He's a Loving Father who wants the very best for His kid!