The Wonderful Twos

I'm tired of calling him terrible! David being two is simply wonderful, and he's still my same sweet little boy. There are some key differences in parenting a two year old vs. a one year old. Without the proper perspective and focus, it can truly feel terrible. My mind the past few weeks has slipped to that place... His brain isn't developed like a big kid, but he so desperately wants to be. His verbal skills are seriously awesome which I think makes me forget just how little he is. He speaks in sentences and complete thoughts. Its so fun to have someone to talk to during the day! The problem is, I know he knows what I'm asking him to do.

Like with discipline, we reserve spankings for severe problems like safety issues, or just extreme sass. Mostly he's in time out, for minor infractions. He marches himself to the time out step as soon as I ask, he sits quietly other than the occasional (no, mommy) whine. The problem is when I go to him and explain why he was in time out (for the second time) and I ask him to look me in the eye and say "sorry" and give me a hug. He's all about the hug, but he REFUSES to say sorry. This usually ends up in a longer time out, or in some cases a spanking (in my book this is sass. He knows what I'm asking him to do and he refuses in defiance). THIS is what they talk about with the terrible twos. In this moment, my patience is tried. I just want him to obey me because I love him and want what's best for him, but he just refuses, and makes things worse for himself. It is a painful mirror of what I do with my relationship with God. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and wants to guide me in the right direction, but sometimes my spiritual infancy comes out, and I try and do it my way, kicking, whining, and screaming just like a two year old. When God disciplines me out of love, and I finally obey, sometimes its painful and sometimes I feel broken but I come back to him, and hold on for dear life, just like when David holds onto me after a spanking. The biggest difference is, God is the perfect parent. He, unlike me, never gets annoyed, inpatient, or flustered. His anger is righteous, unlike mine. His love for me is perfect and completely unselfish, unlike mine.

I am learning so much from this experience of parenting. I hope I come to the other side of "the terrible twos" more sanctified, and a better parent. I hope David learns to obey, not just because it makes my life easier, but because he trusts Stephen and I to guide him, and in doing this, he learns to trust who guides us and someday follows Him too. I also hope it doesn't go too fast, because I really love my little boy, just the way he is. :-)

PS- I wrote this post mostly for me. I've been selfish with my time and energy, and this post no way reflects how I've been acting/thinking the last few weeks. It was just a time to refocus on God and what this whole life is all about. I pray that I can remember that for the next temper tantrum... I know I won't have to wait too long.