Child of God

So you gotta love a Sunday morning that starts with a HUGE tantrum before church. I assume that we are not alone in this circumstance - surely other children decide to melt down on the Sabbath as well. (okay, except for Sasha and Malia who appear to be superhuman creatures who possess politeness beyond the capacity of any other child....) Anyway I digress...

Today's tragedy involved one otherwise cute 6 year old who went to bed last night with wet hair (parental mistake #1). This morning she woke up with a train wreck of misguided hair follicles which were truly beyond repair. There really were only two options... take another shower and start over... or go with curls in the hair to mask the disaster. We really didn't have time for option one so I only presented the "curly" option (parental mistake #2 - always give a choice). I thought I sold it really well though... mommy has curly hair, you wore curly hair for the wedding, it looks so beautiful, etc...

About 10 minutes after I thought I finished the hair, Ella came running back into the bathroom in tears. DRAMA! She is giving the "there is no way I can go anywhere with curly hair" body flinging, crying routine. I have no time for this (parental mistake #3 - never underestimate the time frame of tantrum). We need to be in the van leaving for church in 7 minutes. I offer the token barrett, headband, braid, etc... all of which are vehemently dismissed without any real contemplation. The bottom line for Ella - Get rid of the curls or I am not moving. The bottom line for me - Get your behind downstairs and in the van and stop the ridiculous behavior.

Needless to say that the next 20 minutes involved screaming, crying, physical escorting, wheezing, and name calling. Great - can't wait to be dropped off at church! I am fuming mad and thinking how many hours I can legally require my child to stay in her room that afternoon. She is calm by the time she gets to the family service where she has to sit with us rather than her friends. Pretty much from this point on she transforms into the sweet, hand holding child that I know she can be.

By the time we get home and have our follow up discussion, everyone involved is calm and civil. Scott and I discuss the serious nature of the crime and launch into a monologue on self-control. At some point, Ella actually seems to be engaged in the conversation. We talk about the power of sin and how we can not contol our tempers without the power of God. After much discussion, we agree that Ella needs to spend an hour in her room thinking about what happened.

Insert background information.... a quick diversion from the story. When Ella started school this year, she developed a passion for writing. Since then I usually receive multiple notes from her a day. Ironically, most of them are apology notes for minor offenses. I have never asked for them, but it seems that she is better able to communicate through her notes than having to say "I'm sorry".

Back to the story... So after an hour Ella emerges from her room with a note for me. This is not at all surprising.. except that when I look at the note it is actually not written to me. This is point in the story that I cry and thank God that he is sovereign even in the midst of my distressed parenting skills.

We took these pictures to remember and they pretty much tell the rest of the story.




For the non-teachers I will provide the translation: "Dear God, I am sorry for all of my sins. Will you forgive me? I want Jesus to be in my heart. Love, Ella"




Had to get a picture with a little curl left in the hair:)