Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We went to the park to meet friends a few weeks ago.  And Arizona, being Arizona, there is a Splash Pad where the little ones can run through the fountains and sprinklers to keep cool.  My kiddos brought water guns (the back of our Tahoe was full of them).  Did you know it gets really hot around here?  But…it’s a dry heat…

In the end we didn’t take them all out of the car.  Too many to keep track of.  We brought enough for my two kids and two more for their friends Paul and Will.  Paul’s was too hard for his little hand to manage.  And my sweet Joshie has little man-hands…big and strong.  So I asked him to loan his prized water gun to Paul for the morning.  The car was far.  Did I mention it was verrrrry hot? And I might have considered going to the car to get another, if his response had not been so poor.   So, sharing was a bitter pill to swallow and he really struggled to be generous.  Since he couldn’t move past his feelings, he ended up giving himself a timeout and spent the whole playdate on the sidelines alternating between feeling sorry for himself and being angry at me.

Oh – I feel for him.  Have I ever told you how much alike he and I are?  I know him by heart…my heart.  I know his biggest battle ground is his tender heart.  We are working together on this: that he would learn not to listen to his feelings, but rather to the Spirit and the Word.  Still…as with me, sometimes it just ain’t pretty.

But this post is not about Josh.  Or me.  My friend Jodi was the other mom there that day.  She sweetly looked the other way when Josh fumed.  She knows that discipline and teaching of our kids can be uncomfortable for all of us.  This was such a blessing.

After we left, Josh felt the full shame of having behaved badly.  I did not have to convict him…the Holy Spirit called to mind this verse that we had learned before: The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20).  And he just knew…and was ashamed.  I grieved a little for him…I know what that feels like.

And then I texted Jodi.  We set up a phone call between the boys so Josh could confess, repent, and ask forgiveness.  To Jodi, it was all water under the bridge and Paul was over it too.  But Jodi supports me in the discipline of my kids, and this is what our text message said:

Jodi: Paul was totally oblivious, but I know you need to have him reconcile everything so I’m happy to help!  I LOVE having friends like you where we can do this kind of thing and it’s not “weird” 🙂

Me: So true! It is wonderful to have your help in confirming to him that he needs to make amends, and for him to be able to make things right, when he goes wrong.  It really supports my parenting – thank you!

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).  If you do not have friends who support your parenting, pray to meet some.  If you do, share your struggles with one another.  And, when another mom is having one of “those times” with her kids, remember the old saying, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Here’s hoping you have a peace-filled weekend!

Hugs,

Britta ~ justAgirl…just like you!