Tough Love
“I’m cold”…shivers our little Will crouching beside the couch in nothing but his shirt and underwear.
“Well, you wouldn’t be cold if you didn’t pee all over yourself.” answers my sweet husband from the dinner table.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all! 
When asked why our almost 4 year old urinated in his pants all over our couch, his simple response was…”ummm… I thought I was wearing a pull-up.” And there you have it ladies and gentlemen. My four year old is lazy. It didn’t even occur to him that ALL pee-pee belongs in the potty… let us by no means EVER deny the pull-up of receiving every morsel of urine one has to offer. Obviously, Will has never grasped the concept of a pull-up…. is it not made to “pull-up” and down to make pottying easier? And when in doubt… don’t bother to check to make sure you have one on… just go ahead and pee and take the risk that there may be that slight chance you’re wearing one. Apparently that was Will’s thinking. Ok, I’m done with my mommy frustration of the day. But this was good tonight. I realized that gone are the days of him sleeping in overnight protection. We are going all out tonight. Let the showering begin… I’m armed and ready with three sets of sheets…..Hope he’s ready for some ‘tough love’.
I’ve been saying that phrase a lot lately….”tough love”…. I’ve been making my kids help out around the house more…making them get dressed on their own as best they can, and even learning to work out conflict in peaceful manners (once again, the key phrase here is: as best to their best abilities….which for a 4yr old and 2 yr old… that mostly involves not physically injuring each other and running to “mommy referee” for assistance.) I think that phrase, “tough love” implies putting someone through some kind of pain or hardship to teach them a lesson… something that they don’t want to do… but is good for them. This month has been hard and I feel like the Lord has been teaching me a lot about this ”tough love”. Not in the sense of giving me pain or difficult circumstances….but instead… calling me to a new “love”. Loving when it isn’t easy. That’s tough love. Knowing you have TONS to complain about and issues that rightly you could vent… but choosing not to. Choosing to love. To pour yourself into your family without the thought of yourself. So many times during the day I glance up where our guest bedroom is and I know my husband..who has been working ALL NIGHT long is sleeping and thinking… it’s been five hours… I only got 3 hours of sleep last night… I’m going to wake him up… I need help… EVEN STEVEN, BUBBA! But see, that’s where the Lord compels me to “tough love”.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control……Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25
If Christ Jesus is in me, I am to walk by the Spirit. It’s not easy… It’s not natural… and quite frankly I fail all the time. But for those precious moments I am claiming scripture and I am allowing the Lord to strengthen me…..I am able… because He is able. I can and DO love… because He IS love. There is patience and kindness with my kids, there is love and gentleness towards my husband, there is self-control with my tongue, and above all, there is peace and joy in my home at the end of my difficult day.
God’s faithfulness and goodness are magnified in our hearts when we are walking in love. So this week, as we partake in our ’Valentine’s Activities’ and celebrate the ones we love…. may we not forget to celebrate the one who first loved us (1 John 4:7-10). As Eve tempted her dear husband with fruit from the wrong tree, I encourage you to eat from the good tree; the fruit of the Spirit. We were created to glorify our God, and I think there can be nothing more glorifying than ingesting His word and living it out. Come and taste all He has to offer. You are promised a harvest, you are promised a feast…. and I’m sure the fruit will be oh so sweet!
