Reflection.

“Son – you’re too close to the road!”
“MOM! I’m TRYING to catch a snake!” he snarls back.

I’m thrown. Shaken. Hurt at his tone.
This is my gentle one. My tender heart.
This is the one who brings me flowers and knows when I am sad.
This is new.

I hear the lack of sleep. The late nights. The frustration at his net’s miss of this treasure.
And then, there’s the boy his age who has come over to play, standing beside him.
It is this more than anything, I am quite sure.
He is in the presence of a peer, he so badly wants to impress, he is boy becoming man, and his Mama has embarrassed him.

I get it.

Oh Love. Might you learn early on that seeking other’s approval and putting on airs in the presence of others will serve no purpose in the long term. Might you see that seeking to be like Christ and to please Him alone is the only thing that matters in this life. Might you learn that gentleness with humility wins others far more quickly than pride with arrogance.

Who did he remind me of yesterday?

Oh, that’s right.
It was me.

Might I learn this lesson, as well….

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1714. Learning lessons the same as my oldest.
1715. Being kept humble in the presence of my own peers.
1716. A father who intercedes on my behalf.
1717. A Heavenly Father who does as well - even more so.
1718. His tender heart and gentle conscience.
1719. Reconciliation.
1720. Forgiveness asked for, and given - from both sides. Always.