The alphabet song

I just want to say that it is so hard to walk that very thin line between mother bear and daughter of Christ....I will give you a quick example. Last week Jack happenstansly mentioned that two younger girls ran by him on the playground and said "dummy, dummy" in a sing-song way. Of course Jack has never heard that word before, but understood their tone, and his feelings were hurt. He was exposed, humiliated...for the first time maybe. As a mom, that one is tough. I of course listened and hugged him, saying that I was sorry that happened and that I would talk to his teacher to make her aware of the situation, so that other boys and girls would not have their feelings hurt. But inside, I was plotting a dark mission of hatred toward these girls and was surprised by how quickly I came up with a list of hurtful and torturous things I could do to them as retribution. I quickly asked forgiveness from my Father and moved on. Today in the grocery store, Heath said he was reciting his alphabet song in class and Benjamin said "that's not how it goes"! (if you've ever heard Heath recite the ABC song, you'll find that to be a true statement...) His little head drooped and I could tell tears were coming to his eyes...at that moment, I bent over to comfort him and I felt hot tears spring to my eyes as well. So innocent, so pliable, that the critique of a classmate, age 4, could have such an effect on him. And that's when it occurred to me...that's us. We're all 4. Not only are we Heath, trying hard, failing and having it pointed out to us, but we are also Benjamin, quick to judge and point out the faults of those around us, in order to make ourselves look better. Even to our loved ones, children, parents, coworkers, friends....some of us may even do it in a passive aggressive way (you know, "I'm just joking"), so that it comes off better....some of may even do it in our hearts and minds, so no one will know (even though our Father in heaven knows what we do in secret...). I saw a man standing at the bus stop today wearing goggles on his head and talking to himself, as the rain fell, and I thought, that could be my Jack someday... if he doesn't pull completely out of the autism...and people will drive by and think "freak" to themselves....



I guess what I'm saying is, I need to start over. I need to leave that 4 year-old preschooler mentality behind and BE KIND! I hope these short stories touched you and help to remind you picture your son, nephew, or grandson when you go to judge or be cruel to another. Have a blessed day.