Middle of the Road

I understand that being lukewarm is a bad thing -- when it comes to Christianity at least. No problem with that at all. I undestand also that somethings in general are just right or wrong. No problem there either. In fact, I prefer it that way.

That said, I have come to discover that nothing appears to be as black and white as I'd like for it to be or as others say it is when it comes to mommy-hood.

Case and point... Toddler tantrums. Eddie has been a bit of a bear this week. I know some of my older friends or acquaintances would say, "tan his hide," "break his will," or "show him who is boss." Othe friends and cquaintances would say things like, "let him be free," "encourage him to discover the natural consequences of things," or "it's just his way and you shouldn't do anything at all about the tantrums."

To all of those people, I say, "HOGWASH!!!"

I don't believe we are to break anyone's will. Period. If a person is to be broken, it should be at the hands of the Holy Spirit, not some parent on a power trip.

That said, I don't think a child should be allowed to break his parent's will either.

Children need discipline. They need love and they need to be encouraged to grow and develope naturally. That doesn't mean that the parent never interferes and it doesn't mean that the parent controls every aspect of the child's life. There's got to be some middle ground. This is one place where it's probably good to ride smack down the middle of the road. Just make sure you have a crash helmet on. ;)

I want Eddie to flourish in everything he does. Sometimes though, that means that I have to stop him from attempting to do things his way when his way could be dangerous or sinful. I'm sure he'd love to ride down the highway not strapped into his carseat, but tough noogies. Now, if he wants to wear green socks with an orange shirt and red shorts... well, we may just stay home that day, but I'm not going to fight him over it. Know what I mean.

I want Eddie to be himself. I can already see that he is strong-willed and determined, just like me and just like Ed. Heaven help me. I want to teach him how to use those traits to his advantage, I have no desire to stomp out those personality traits. God blessed him to be like this, my job, as his mother is to teach him how to remain true to himself without offending God.

So, pray for me. Pray for Eddie. Pray for Ed. We are all cruising down the middle of Tantrum Highway and our helmets are coming loose because of all the wind. We'd really like to make it to our destination, which is NOT "Surviving Toddlerhood Hill." No, our destination is much further away at "Raised a Godly Son Heavenly Retreat."