Choices & Consequences
"Beware of...going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been." -O. Chambers
Knowing and doing are two different things. I'm all the more aware of this as I train and discipline and deal with a 3 year old. Everyone was right - "terrible 2's" were nothing compared to the "trying 3's." He's discovered his own will and his own ability to make choices. I can't tell you how many times a day he hears: "Make good choices. Is that a wise decision?" He knows there are consequences - good and bad - to the choices he makes. But it doesn't always help him choose wisely. He still battles his will of defiance and disobedience to test and see the limits.
As he is but 3, my prayer is he has a full and happy life to live. One that will surely be FULL of choices. Some he will make wisely and some he will suffer consequences for. I pray everyday over those decisions yet to come. And I'm also reminded that who is he right now is not who he'll be.
Even as I type that, do I understand that even in my now (ahem) 30's, who I am right now is not who I will be? Who I was 10 years ago is not who I am right now? Everyday that passes, every life lesson, every choice, every consequence - it's all shaping who God wants me to be. As long as we're given breath we're meant to be growing. There may be bad decisions and there may be consequences. But my only real fault is the minute I choose to stop growing, stop becoming and stop letting Him use those choices and consequences to shape who He wants me to be.
Knowing and doing are two different things. I'm all the more aware of this as I train and discipline and deal with a 3 year old. Everyone was right - "terrible 2's" were nothing compared to the "trying 3's." He's discovered his own will and his own ability to make choices. I can't tell you how many times a day he hears: "Make good choices. Is that a wise decision?" He knows there are consequences - good and bad - to the choices he makes. But it doesn't always help him choose wisely. He still battles his will of defiance and disobedience to test and see the limits.
As he is but 3, my prayer is he has a full and happy life to live. One that will surely be FULL of choices. Some he will make wisely and some he will suffer consequences for. I pray everyday over those decisions yet to come. And I'm also reminded that who is he right now is not who he'll be.
Even as I type that, do I understand that even in my now (ahem) 30's, who I am right now is not who I will be? Who I was 10 years ago is not who I am right now? Everyday that passes, every life lesson, every choice, every consequence - it's all shaping who God wants me to be. As long as we're given breath we're meant to be growing. There may be bad decisions and there may be consequences. But my only real fault is the minute I choose to stop growing, stop becoming and stop letting Him use those choices and consequences to shape who He wants me to be.
I think teaching your child consequences is so important. Without understanding consequences, can we truly understand what Christ did for us on the cross?
ReplyDeleteAs I watch society around us, so many have no morale compass. Without out the consequences a loving God has given us, so many will never understand the plan of salvation let alone accept it.
Sue Edwards