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Meg
Peppermint tea in a little cafe seemed like the perfect way to start this day. I sat there, trying to write this post, while drinking my hot tea and wrestling a wiggly baby on my lap. Often, Ezra decides to take a nap during my writing time. Today, I wasn't quite so lucky. He was wide awake, grinning at me, and trying to get into mistchief. I'm sure, before I'm even close to being ready, he'll be running full speed off my lap and after his big sister. He'll have to be fast and whitty to keep up with her, but something tells me he'll be up to the task. I suppose my first response to this wiggly baby could have been frustration. He was not cooperating. But instead, I enjoyed the bright blue eyes and grinning face of my litlte guy.
There's always a choice, isn't there? Sometimes I feel very deserving, very much in the right. I feel like it's my right to be frustrated right now, it's my right to be annoyed with this circumstance. They are the ones that need to change. They are the ones that need to fix this. Because the parent is always right, right?
And often, when it comes to children misbehaving, they are wrong. They are somehow not following the rules.
But I have a choice as well. Before i start speaking, I can decide how I will approach this sittuatuation. What the end result, end consequence will be. How I will let this sittuation affect my mood.
Because honestly, one bad tantrum from my toddler, or one hour of a screaming baby, and I've had enough. I want to quite on the day.
But I don't have to.
The choice is always there.
How will I respond?
What kind of grace will I receive?
Is my response Biblically based?
What kind of grace can I speak into the world around me today?
Just a few thoughts from a girl who just sipped a wonderful cup of peppermint tea. Tea has such a calming affect. Stepping back, and letting God speak is such a great way to start the day.
"Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person" (Colossians 4:6, HCSB).