Our son is not perfect.
My whole parenting world came to a screeching halt about three weeks ago when I picked up Colton from daycare and April, our wonderful daycare lady, told me that Colton had in fact bitten another child. I FREAKED out. MY CHILD? Yes, I knew already that he bites occasionally, but I had been the only person that he's ever bitten...and only when he was super tired. For a while, he was more accurately telling me that he was tired by attempting to bite me than yawning or rubbing his eyes (I'm thankful that he's over that stage). When April told me the unfortunate news, I kind of understood how my mom felt when a police officer told her that my brother had stolen a stop sign. I will not say which brother, in order to protect the ... um, innocent? That phrase doesn't seem to fit here. Anyway, I was very upset with Colton.
The biting episode was a stand-alone event, thank goodness. However, that day it seemed like my son realized that being naughty was something that he should try more often. THIS IS AWESOME! BITING, HITTING, WHINING, DISOBEYING - yeah! My docile, compliant, even-tempered toddler has quickly degenerated into a screaming, completely irrational, angry child. Last Tuesday, after he went in timeout after timeout after timeout for not letting me brush his teeth, I sat down on my bathroom floor and sobbed along with him. I don't know what I'm doing. This parenting stuff doesn't come with a manual, at least not a comprehensive one. (Chapter 335: What to do when your 19-month-old tries to boss you around and won't brush his teeth).
Last night after the house was quiet, picked up, and I could begin to reflect on the last few hellish days with Colton, I came to the conclusion that he could even ramp up the naughtiness tenfold and I'd still love him with every fiber in my body. He is my flesh and blood. I'm not going to stop loving him even though I briefly thought about enrolling him in toddler boarding school. I would keep extending him grace time and time again, because he is my son and I love him so much.
Our heavenly father, our most perfect parent, loves us intensely even though not a one of us deserves it. Imagine what we, adult humans, must look like in the eyes of a righteous God. It's easy for me to look at Colton, shake my head, and remark, "What a toddler!" because I am much more mature than he is. Imagine what our petty remarks, anger, selfishness and negative attitudes look like to our perfect God. And yet he loves us so.
