God Fathering | Broken Hearts
So I told Steele that I would by him a new car because he was being good so it was off to the best place to acquire one, Wal-Mart. Steele has a passion for the movie Cars like I would imagine most three year old boys do and we headed straight to the movie branded cars. Now I was doing my best to guide Steele towards a car that I thought he would be stoked about for a long time and to make sure he didn’t make a snap decision.
I was trying to steer him towards Wingo which he didn’t have and is hard to find. But a particular vehicle caught his eye and his heart. It was Guido. But the Guido that he already had and that I reminded him that he had. This one came with a little tool box and a stack of tires that he thought was killer. But the fact remained that the car that came in the set was the very same one he already had. But dad knew that he would not be happy with it long term like he would if he got Wingo. So I convinced him to hang on to Wingo and we headed out.
But I could tell that he was still longing for that little stack of tires and toolbox. He wasn’t quite whimpering, but was on the verge of a tear. But I knew that if we just checked out and opened up the new prize he would forget all about the other one.
But I decided there was an opportunity here to learn something. So I stopped and asked him if he really wanted the Guido. And he said he REALLY wanted it. So we wheeled back a couple of aisles and swapped out the cars.
Steele was stoked on the ride home playing with his new toy. We got home and he bolted up stairs and began to assemble all the cars from the movie.
Steele quickly realized the fact that he already had a Guido. It didn’t take too long before there were full on tears as he started to connect the fact that he could have had a car that was new and different but instead just had another Guido.
Steele laid on the floor in his room and cried for ten minutes. Maybe one day the lesson learned will bear fruit.
It’s easy to focus on what is right in front of us and not heed the advice of those we should trust.
One thing that’s difficult for me to remember/enact is that as a shepherd, we aren’t called to be heavy-handed with our kids. We ARE called to lead them, even if that means allowing them to experience some pain and disappointment in order to realize that you lead with their best interest in mind. No sheep ever went anywhere he was supposed to because he was being pushed.
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Yeah, I think it is so important to let my kids learns some things the hard way
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Vince – spot on, my friend. Way to let Steele (still love that name, btw) learn consequences to actions. You are SUCH a good dad.
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My last name is Steele, btw…
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