My sons can be quite stubborn sometimes.
If they grow weary of a walk outside, they might just plop down on the grass and refuse to move. If they are losing a game, they sometimes fold their arms and refuse to continue playing. And if they are disappointed in the tasks they’ve been assigned (ie cleaning up their rooms), they sometimes work actively against the process. Somehow they think that making a bigger mess or just moving at an absolute snail’s pace may prove to me that what I was asking them to do was unreasonable after all.
It drives me crazy.
And perhaps it’s just what kids of their age do as they learn to navigate life.
I often, probably like many parents, wish I could convince them faster that the other side of losing a game or cleaning their room or finishing a challenging but good-for-you task is worth getting to…. I can get so weary with their stubborn attitudes sometimes.
But it makes me think as well…
How often do I stop and refuse to go on because I am weary?
How often do I stomp my foot (internally) when my way is not followed or my opinion not seen as absolute truth?
How often do I, maybe without even realizing, actively work against something and slow down the work of others just to prove my point?
I think we as adults do it a lot more than we realize. We forget the lessons we long to teach our children – that some things that are good for us will indeed make us weary, that we are not always gonna win, and that we are not always gonna be right. And finally, that actively working against the positive movement of others doesn’t help anyone in the end, including ourselves.
So this morning, my prayer is for perspective. May we be given the grace to see beyond ourselves so that we can work to move forward together. May we be given the strength to keep walking when we are weary. The humility to accept our human imperfections and the fortitude to work together to clean up this mess we call 2020.
