Friday, March 11, 2011

Two's...Terrible or Terrific??

I hate it when people ask me if my son has hit the "Terrible Two's", yet. What does THAT even mean?!?! We were out to get my son's haircut and other errands when I was confronted with that question. My response?? "He's a great kid!" How else was I supposed to answer that?? I mean, Cobin is TWO, so he is going to think, act, and behave like a two-year old....if you find that to be "terrible" than you may be missing out on one of God's greatest blessings in this life.

I would not want my son to be anybody else, but himself and who God wants him to be. At this age, it is natural for him to explore and test the boundaries. It is my duty as his parent to protect him from things that could harm them. However, I need to give him just enough freedom to be who he is and who it is that God is and will be growing him to be. That's not terrible at all....it's TERRIFIC!!

How would we feel if God took that approach to us as His child?? "Oh....(sigh)...there goes Krystal again!! Man!! When is she going to grow out of her Terrible Thirties?? She is driving me crazy!!" Look back at your life in which you chose to rebel instead of listening to what God wanted you to do. There are MANY times in my life where God probably thought I was going through my "Terrible Teens", "Terrible Twenties", and maybe even "Terrible Thirties", but regardless of my selfish and rebellious attitude, God still thinks I'm TERIFFIC!!!!

Shouldn't we take on the same attitude?? Psalm 127:3 says, "Behold, Children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the Womb is a reward..." Our children is a gift straight from Heaven itself!! To look at your kids in a negative light (even in joking) can really do more damage to your child's self-esteem than you may ever know.

Let your child express him/herself in the way they want (as long as it is not harmful and/or at the expense of someone else) without them feeling like they will be ridiculed for doing so (BE that safe haven), STILL set boundaries for them (from what I hear, kids LOVE boundaries), and let's change our attitudes about how we feel about our kids. Everything we do, say and act toward them marks on the slate of who they are. They need to know that they are precious, valued and extremely loved...a gift from God!

NO MATTER WHAT MY SON MAY DO TO DRIVE ME CRAZY SOMETIMES, I WANT HIM TO KNOW THAT HE IS NOT "TERRIBLE", BUT "TERRIFIC"!!!