A lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them I was the hardest child for my mom to raise. I was stubborn, I pushed a lot of buttons, and I threw tantrums anywhere and everywhere.
My mom always talks about how frustrating it was to punish me. She would send me to my room, ground me, cancel playdates—you name it!—and I never wanted her to feel like she had won.
Eventually my punishment turned into a drop of tobasco sauce on the tongue (since I despised all things spicy), and I would sit there, trying my best to keep a still face.
Needless to say, it takes a lot of patience to raise a child … and an extra dose of kindness and care to raise a strong-willed one like me. 🙂
Don Stephens recently shared on “The Mercy Minute”:
“When my mother showed me forgiveness and mercy, she was demonstrating how to love people the way God loves us all. I’ve never forgotten those lessons.”
I look back on my childhood sometimes and think my mother was crazy to love me so well and bless me so abundantly, especially during the times in which I didn’t deserve it.
I remember one time in particular where I was so exhausted from putting up a fight that I fell asleep on the couch (with an ice cube in my mouth to ease the sting of the tobasco). I woke up to her lying next to me and—while I expected her to be angry and worn out—she said, “How are you feeling, love?”
Grateful for the moments of mercy that my mom gave to me and, in turn, the ways in which she demonstrated the kindness and grace of our good, good Father.
Wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, with gratitude for the unique and special role they play in shaping us to be more like Him.
I lover you Haley Jessup!
So sweet Halez…..