As I shared before Eli is saying new things all the time. Sometimes he is saying stuff that is totally off the wall, other times he is saying things he has heard us say, and other times honestly who knows what he is saying. As he starts speaking more though we are realizing some stuff he is saying is good, and other times we just shake our heads. This past weekend was one of those moments. We were trying to get him to slow down and ready for bed. It was also during his nightly routine of running laps around our house. This time was a little different though. Our other son SIlas was laying on the floor and Eli felt the need to practice jumping as part of his run. So he would go right up to Silas, get his toes right beside him and then shout “Jump” as he launched over our 5 month old. At first we thought it was funny until he started getting tired and barely clearing his younger brother. At that point we had to put a stop to Eli’s fun.
So I tried at first to ask him to stop, yet lap after lap he kept going right up to Silas, looking right at me, and then doing the same thing. After the third time around my patience was getting tested. “ELI, STOP.” The response, not quite what I expected. He looked right at me with this defiant little face, “Daddy, I don’t want to listen to you.” Then he proceeded to do the same thing over. Next time around my voice was a little bit firmer, “Eli I said Stop, do you want to go to timeout?” Again only a little bit louder from him, “Daddy I said I dont want to listen to you.” Then off running again. Next time, he got his butt smacked, and started screaming, “I don’t want to listen, I don’t want to listen,” as I proceeded to carry him to his timeout chair. That finally got his attention.
Proverbs 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod, hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”
I remember as a kid having to be disciplined by my own dad. (Oh wait, I never misbehaved) In the moment the last thing you want to hear is you are grounded, or your mom say, just wait until your father gets home and then we will talk. But in the long run and looking back it was truly what I needed. With my dad it was never him screaming or shouting or even a good smack. His discipline for me that always seemed to have the most affect on me was hearing the words, “I’m disappointed in you.”
I will never forget coming home one day after school and for some reason my dad was home already from work. I walked in the front door and there was my mom and dad both sitting on the couch waiting for me, holding up a piece of paper (my fine I had received two weeks before for doing something stupid). He just gave me that look and said, “Where were you two weeks ago?” Needless to say that was a learning day for me and an expensive one. I am grateful my parents didn’t withhold discipline from me even though in the moment it was the last thing I wanted. Their discipline has made me who I am today.
Now spiritually speaking, what is it in our lives that we know God is calling us to do that we are screaming at him saying, “Daddy I don’t want to listen.” Is he calling you to go to a certain place or speak to a certain person. Is it an area of forgiveness that you are holding back? Or how about showing love to the untouchables in your area? “God, I don’t want to.” Maybe for you it isn’t what you aren’t doing but what you are that He is trying to get your attention. Maybe it is a sin in your life or an area of disobedience. Maybe it is a path you have been taking or a relationship you are in that God is trying to get your attention and yelling at you at this point, “Stop!”
I wonder what God’s timeout chair would look like. Not that I ever want to experience that in my life, but honestly knowing that sometimes in our lives maybe it is exactly what we need for God to finally get our attention.
Proverbs 3:12, “Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
You are a blessing.