Pecking Order

I've mentioned on here before that sometimes I can get a little uppity. :)

God has a certain order He has in place for everything. Sometimes my flesh does not like that order. Case in point...

Yesterday I had a rough morning. The kids weren't in sync, I had a million and one things to do before going to Asas that afternoon, I had to stop to discipline SEVERAL times...it was just one of those mornings. Joel came home for lunch. I was very glad about all that I had accomplished in spite of the setbacks that day. The kids were already ready and dressed to go to their class (even Eissa was napped and ready to walk with them to class and Cass was all dressed and ready to go to Asas with me). All that had to be done was getting their snacks together and put in their lunchboxes.

Joel came home, the food was heated and the kids were already at the table, and we sat down and ate lunch. As Joel walked out the door taking the kids to class, we realized that the readying of the snacks still hadn't been done. Joel told me to go fix them and bring them out to them.

Now, Joel had had a rough morning too. Usually he would have either taken care of it himself beforehand, or would have asked me nicely to do it instead of just telling me to. But, because of his morning, this is the way he chose to word it.

What did I do? I told him no. To be frank, it ticked me off. Hello...I had already done SO MUCH that morning and still had SO MUCH to do before we left for Asas. How dare he tell me to do something that he can just as easily do himself. I didn't feel like doing it, I didn't have the time to do it, I didn't want to do it. So, I told him no.

I ALWAYS immediately know that I am doing wrong when this happens. Why is this wrong? Well, it's wrong just because it's wrong. He is my head. I am, in fact, supposed to obey him. That's just the way it is.

But, the other reason (and big one for me these days...the one that really gets my attention) is that who was present when I wasn't obeying...when I was telling my authority no? My children. What are we trying to teach them every second of every day? To obey. Why are we trying to teach them that? We want them to learn to obey us at the first command. We want them to get really, really good at that. We want that to be second nature for them. Why? Because we want them to learn how to obey completely and immediately so that they will, later in life, obey God completely and immediately.

Who is the model of that for them in the here and now? Who is the example of obedience they should be able to follow that they see every day? Who is it that has a real life authority right here before their very eyes? ME!!

Who is it that fails often? Who is it that doesn't at all model that complete and immediate obedience for them at all times? Who is it that is not a good example for them to follow sometimes? ME!!

We are trying to teach our kids to ALWAYS obey. When they are tired, they have to obey. When they don't feel like it, they have to obey. When they are sad, they have to obey. When they are sick even, they have to obey. "When you don't obey, you get hurt"...this is what we tell our kids...so very true in all stages of life and in all situations, when you don't obey parents, when you don't obey God, etc.

Although no one in our family is being "pecked," this is the phrase that came to mind. I have no doubt that chickens rarely let their feelings or rights get in the way of the order set forth in the chicken yards. There is an order...it makes for order.

Children are perceptive. I eventually did go in the house and make the snacks. But, I'm sure what shone through to my kids was the attitude of my heart...and it wasn't one of joyful obedience. That is what we want from our children.

We tell our children to do one thing, but then do something entirely different sometimes. The whole "do as I say, not as I do" thing DOES NOT work. Actions speak much louder than words. Children do what they see modeled for them.

I started learning this lesson a long time ago. I've been wanting to post this for a while now. Yesterday was another reminder of this lesson that I'm still learning...I'm a little slow sometimes.