“Today, you and I are going to the frame shop so we can help daddy finish getting his office ready. There will be a lot of picture frames stacked on the floor inside the store. You may not touch any of the frames. You may look, and even point, but you may not touch. I want you to stay with me the whole time. If you leave my side, or touch the picture frames, that would be a foolish, disobedient choice. I want you to make wise choices today. Can you do that?” He replied in earnest, “Yes, Mommy. I will obey.” I affirmed, “Great, good choice; let’s go.”
Having given my preschooler his first clear report, we marched into the discount frame shop. As we entered, sure enough, there were large columns of frames neatly organized by size and price. We walked around the shop until we located the desired section. The bell on the door chimed as another young mom bustled through the doorway with her preschooler in tow. Immediately, her son freed himself from her grasp and sprinted to the many towers of frames, plowing through the neat stacks and scattering them helter-skelter like blocks from his toy bin. I looked up and saw the disapproving face of the proprietor. The boy’s mother, without even glancing up, continued shopping and intoned, “Sam, come here right now. I mean it. Sam… now don’t be getting into those frames. Those are not your toys. Sam… come here! I’m gonna count to three… One… Two… Two and a half…. Don’t make me come over there. Samuel, are you listening?”
By that time, my son and I were checking out at the cash register. My little charge kept looking at Sam’s trail of disaster, then looked back at me, then at the mother, then back at the shop owner. Finally, he could no longer restrain himself, clearly and loudly exclaiming, “Oh, Mommy, look at that boy; he is bringing shame to his mother!” The store owner who had been grumbling under his breath suddenly became still, as did the other customers. All eyes were on the unrestrained tornado. An awkward silence pressed in. A wave of compassion washed over me as the young lad’s mother, embarrassed and flustered, grabbed her son by the arm and quickly exited, threatening, “This is the last time I’ll ever take you with me shopping!” As they hurried to their van, all inside the shop heaved a sigh of relief.
I was saddened. This mom did not understand that her words had no effect on her son’s behavior. Sam’s actions revealed who was really in charge, and even my three-year-old observer could clearly see what Sam’s mother did not. I turned to my son and whispered, “We will let his mommy deal with his disobedience.” We paid the cashier, and quietly left, frames in hand. I couldn’t very well chide my young one for his outburst. We would work on discretion another day. As we hopped in our vehicle, I praised him. “You did a great job of obeying me today! You made wise choices. Good job!” He calmly and matter-of-factly replied, “I am so glad I didn’t bring you shame today, Mommy.”
I thanked God silently: “Thank You, Father, that this precious one is learning your statutes. Thank you for this window into his heart.” After all, some days on this roller-coaster ride of parenting make one truly wonder how much spiritual progress is being forged. But this day revealed God’s grace at work… what a good day.
Proverbs 29:15
“The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”
Posted by Rochelle Fleming
Mom-Up 