What Difference Does It Make?!?

I often dread transitions with my kids, like potty-training, moving them to big-kid beds, taking away the pacifiers, weaning them, teaching them to brush their teeth, tie their shoes, put on their clothes, clean their toys, et cetera! The energy involved in training them almost feels like too much to even think about at times. I have had it in my mind for some time now to start really working hard with Judah on his reading. My feet have dragged along with the time. I simply have not wanted to do it. It's a lot of work! I could wait until he's five and do it along with the schools. But then, he seems pretty interested in books and learning, and it is not a stretch for me to think that he can't begin to sound out small words. So fine! I kicked myself in the pants, and we got to work on his reading.

As I think about it, even if I didn't do the work, somewhere down the road, in all likelihood, Judah would learn to read. And the kids would at least learn that it's not socially acceptable to go to the bathroom in their drawers or to comfort themselves with pacifiers or to continue to nurse or to walk around with stinky breath from unbrushed teeth (although they could probably get away with that more than the stinky drawers situation). They would also eventually learn that they would prefer to sleep on a bed and not in a crib or on the floor. I could actually leave all of the training to time and experience. But I know that it's better that I teach them these things.

More than that, I think about the spiritual training that has to go into my kids. I'm not gonna lie: some mornings, I just want to plop their breakfast on the table and go about my tasks. I don't want to get out the Bible, read to them, and then have an engaged conversation about what we just read. It's TIRING! And when Judah has tattled on Ezra for the fifteenth time in a single morning, and Ezra has lost his temper and stormed off, I would rather just yell out: "That's it! Judah t0 your corner, Ezra to yours! No more playing for the rest of the day!" It would be SO much easier...for now. And of course, there are times when I've given in to that kind of expedient parenting-- the kind that hands the wayward child a piece of candy just for appeasement during a phone conversation. Also, given my alignment with the reformed doctrine, I know that God is sovereign, so if He's chosen my child, then nothing I can do (or not do) would thwart that- so a little spiritual-training-backsliding surely won't lead to the grave...

So while all of those things MIGHT be true (although the sovereign thing is misguided, at best), I have to remember that training them and persevering through the training is for MY best too-- and for His glory. While I might be saving myself some time in the immediate, backfilling is always harder than building the foundation right. I have to make every effort in training my children...and some days will be harder than others-- maybe even total flops! But faithfulness over the long haul is required of me...so once again, what could conclude all of my blogs: I'm thankful for God's daily grace to help me to persevere. I must add, biting the bullet and just doing it, is almost always easier than the dread of it (at least in my own little life).

As a side-note, Adoniram Judson is the bomb! Mark and I have been reading about him- and he learned to read when he was three. Okay, that's for a little added inspiration! But that's only one of the reasons he's so dope. I'll share more later (on the edge of your seat now, huh?).