17 Jul Sin and “Sawy”
He loved fruit.
Any mention of any berry sent him into a feeding frenzy.
But not this morning.
No, in fact, this morning, it was the berry that got him in trouble.
Throwing bowls—or anything, for that matter—out of anger got him sent straight to a time-out.
Sometimes, time-outs lasted for several rounds as he got himself calmed down; sometimes they were done after the first sixty seconds. But today. Today was different. Today was the day that this toddler would learn about God’s discipline and patience and persistence. Today was the day that Corban would say “sorry.”
It took seventy-five minutes in one-minute, then five-minute time-out sessions. Each time, he would end it standing quietly in his crib. Each time, his mom would come in and ask if he was ready. Each time, he would reply with a happy “out?” And each time, his mom would say, “I would love to get you out. First, you need to say ‘sorry.’”
His reply was consistent—aside from the occasional “daddy?” (sorry, kiddo, nobody’s gonna save you from this), he would throw himself on his mattress and scream.
Interesting, right? How deeply ingrained our pride goes, how young it begins, how we hate to admit wrongdoing.
The timer beeped again, his mother walked into his room again, and he threw himself on his mattress again. But this time, he rolled over and extended his hand to her. “Jeja?” Corban asked. “Jesus?” his mom questioned. He confirmed with a grin. She grabbed his hand and asked Jesus to help her son let go of his sinful pride and say that he was sorry.
She opened her eyes, a little teary from the precious request of her young one, but none too hopeful that anything had changed. Still, she asked, “Would you like to say ‘sorry’ now?”
He smiled. “Sawy.”
Enter the rejoicing of the angels…and one tired mom. She squealed and embraced him with a hug to rival all hugs…and then called his dad and cried.
Angie Leopold
Posted at 10:02h, 23 JulyThis is the BEST!!!
Grandma
Posted at 20:23h, 19 JulyA great testimony of God changing hearts. Keep up the good, hard work of discipline, patience and love. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Lydhut
Posted at 07:13h, 18 JulyI rejoice with you! Remind him often of this time when he first called on the name of the Lord and He answered. Love you
Stephgoodwin
Posted at 22:54h, 17 JulyYou are such a good mommy! A few months ago I had had it with Caleb and went outside to call Marc. I came back in to see Caleb perfectly calm but wet…he had screamed and cried so hard he wet himself….ha! Not my finest moment for sure. Much love to you!
theredheads
Posted at 07:05h, 18 JulyHaha, Corban has done that before as well! So then we still had a time-out to deal with, AND I had to wash his sheets. Ugh. Thankful for a happier ending this time! :)