Trust and obey

Written last night:

Being a mother of 3, 3 and under is not an easy job. I say this as someone who has given birth to, nursed, and raised twins, so you know this has some credibility. Sure, my twins are incredibly smart and well-meaning, they love to be helpful, and are getting to be fairly independent. But there are some days I would give my right arm to only have to tell them 1 time to do 1 little thing, and know that it gets done without my having to micromanage every step of it. Today was one of those days.

The most recent example was this evening, right before bed. I asked Isaac to go to the bathroom and take off his underpants and his pants, so we could put a diaper on him for sleep (they are so close to being diaper-free! Probably in the next few weeks...). He walks away, goes in the bathroom, then comes back 30 seconds later, completely dressed. I asked if he went to the bathroom, he said, "I already went," so I asked him to go back in the bathroom and undress. He went back in and came out with a shirt, underpants, and socks. So I asked him once again to go get ready for bed, and 5 minutes after the initial request, had a half-naked boy dancing out of the bathroom with a diaper waving over his head. 

We have been talking with them extensively about obedience, and trying to patiently work with them on learning to obey, the first time. We have had a bit of trouble getting them to obey the second, third, fourth time, or sometimes even at all. It's not that they're necessarily being defiant (although, sometimes Isaac tests those waters), it's just that "toddler time" is about 2 hours behind "Mommy time," if things even get done at all before they get distracted by the next thought that floats into their little blonde heads. 

One of the main things we've been trying to teach them about obedience is that if they can't obey their parents, who, very clearly, tell them exactly what we expect, how will they be able to obey God, whose voice is sometimes hard to discern and sometimes asks great things from us? Of course, we have His Word, but He also whispers to us and nudges us in various ways to get us to do His will. On a more practical level, they also need to learn to obey laws and rules in order to be functioning citizens.

It is slow going, and we take many steps back, and do much reminding of "what it means to obey," but they are also very sweet little people. I do get frustrated with them, and sometimes lose my temper with them, but somehow they usually manage to disarm me suddenly with a completely unexpected action, like the one I saw today. 

I had just finished nursing Sam and set him in his Boppy so I could get lunch ready for the older boys and myself. He is almost able to sit up by himself (amazing, with that huge noggin!), so I put a pillow in front of him and set him in the corner of the couch. I walked away, and before I knew it, this is what I saw: 

Tyson climbed up there, moved the pillow, and sat and smiled, tickled, sang to, and even read a book to his tiny little brother! Sam loved being face to face with Tyson, and Tyson held the book up so Sam could see the illustrations, and read every page with a smile to him. My heart absolutely melted.

As much as they can drive me crazy, it's moments like these that make it all worth it. We put them down for bed tonight, and prayed for their poor little noses to stop running and for their coughs, and for them to learn to be more obedient, and both Tyson and Isaac prayed, of their own will, for us all to obey, to have a good night's sleep, for my husband's job, and to apologize to one another. I could not have been more proud.

They may not do everything we ask. They may not do half of what we ask. They may require several reminders, redirections, whatever you like to call them. But they get the stuff that really matters. Baby brothers are people too, and are worth taking the time to interact with. Praying together really does make a difference, and God hears our prayers. Even the prayers of a little child can change a grumpy adult's hurting heart. I love my boys. All 4 of them (sometimes my hubby needs extra reminders too) ;-) And I am blessed to have the privilege to work with them each day, caring for them, teaching them, and loving them. If God gave me the challenge of raising these boys, He will also give me the patience, kindness, and grace to do it well.

Today's encouraging verse: "And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” Deuteronomy 6:25