“Children are a blessing - a special gift from God." ~ Psalm
127:3
These were choppy waters. After running several tedious errands, Carla scanned
her grocery list one last time before heading for the checkout line. She hated food shopping, particularly after a
long work day; especially when facing a HUGE line. Little Kenzie sat quietly in the grocery cart
. . . for now. That would soon change.
While placing items on the checkout belt, her strong-willed
3-year old asked for a candy bar placed strategically at kids’ eye level. “Pleease Mommmy?”
“Oh God,” thought Carla.
She knew this day would come. Grocery
stores are designed to send children into crying fits. All of the sugary food, the bright packaging,
the toys, the candy — it’s a minefield. An occasional meltdown is unavoidable, but why
TODAY? “You can handle this,” she
repeated silently.
“Not tonight, honey,” she said. “It’ll spoil your dinner. We’re having watermelon for desert.”
“OK, so that failed,” Carla admitted. Distraction sometimes works with
youngsters. Sidetrack her fast before a
tantrum erupts. Gently picking Kenzie
from the cart, she placed her on the floor.
“Will you be my helper and count these things when I take them out of
the cart?”
Bad idea. Instead of
helping as requested, Kenzie grabbed the desired candy from the shelf and waved
it in her mother’s face. “This one Mom;
I neeeed this one pleeeease?”
Carla continued to unload her foodstuffs hoping that Kelsey
would lose interest if she simply ignored her.
“Mommmy, you’re not listening!” Kelsey stated with the urgency of a hand
grenade with its pin removed. A
full-blown tantrum was coming. And once
it started, she knew there wasn’t much Carla could do to contain it. Best to have an EXIT strategy - leave the
shopping cart where it is, exit the building as fast as possible, and never
come back to this store again.
After saying “No” for the third time, she just gave in. It was only one Snickers bar, the reasoned.
Then something amazing happened. After paying for all the groceries, Carla
handed the candy bar to Kenzie. The
toddler stopped, turned around and handed it to a little boy that was crying in
line behind them at the register.
To say that Carla was surprised might be the understatement
of all time. When asked why she gave it
to him, Kenzie explained that she heard the boy’s mom tell him they didn’t have
money left for candy until she can find another job.
Sometimes you gotta go with your instincts. Three year olds can swing rapidly between
endearingly cute antics and screaming, fits of rage. Completely unpredictable, we love them as
little blessings and nightmares . . . sometimes at the same time.
God of Love, You demonstrate Your patience
for us through Your continual forgiveness of sin. Please shape our children’s characters,
through the power of Your Holy Spirit, so they will be patient and gracious as
You are. Amen
