Cindy’s post…..relenting

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

Ordering books for homeschooling is always exciting for us especially when the little truck comes and delivers them to our door! It’s like a gift of knowledge hand delivered. It’s a race to see who has knocked and then the excitement pursues as the parcel is opened. What’s important to me is what is inside. Is it the history or geography book I ordered? Did the map come too?
The excitement happened just a few weeks ago. The cardboard package harboured an ordered item. I checked out the brand new book; smelt its pages and ran my fingers through its crispness. My daughter however eyed the cardboard package; the plain, brown, and stiff casing. She went to grab it.
‘Really, what are you going to do with that?’ I said less than encouraging.
I will share with you some background but truly it doesn’t matter. My precious daughters have ‘collected’ packaging for some time now. They have been known to retrieve packaging from the recycle. In their rooms are corners of packaging appropriately decorated or used as storage. Cereal boxes, tissue boxes, juice containers…… So the thoughts of another collected item were less than pleasing especially compared with my brand new book.

‘I want to make a book with it’, she said with enthusiasm.

I….relented; submitted and allowed.

Look what she did with the plain, brown, and stiff casing. I couldn’t have imagined but she could…

Oh, what we would have missed if I hadn’t relented. I would have missed the opportunity to allow her to be who God created her to be.
Dear Heavenly and Gracious Father,
Thank You Lord for the gift of parenting and for our precious ones. Help us Lord to see our children through Your eyes; to see them as You do. Change our hearts and our perceptions to foster their gifts! Help us to lay down our own expectations; especially those that hinder theirs; to not exasperate them. In Jesus name. Amen