How many times have I imparted consequences on my Aiden when I should have given them to myself? How many times do I stop and think about where Aiden's attitude is coming from before I start in on the changes he needs to make. It hit me square in the nose the other day that so often Aiden is a reflection of the way I have acted. He picks up and absorbs the things I say, the way I say them, and the things I do. Listening to my three year old tell me, "Mama! Good grief! I'm just so irritated at you!" was a slap in the face. He got that and all the other unhappy things he says straight from me. I knew that I needed to work on him (and me) from the inside out. Aiden knows the verse 2 Thes. 3:13 "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good." So we talked about this verse and to enforce a heart change I simply cut a heart out of a piece of paper and told Aiden that every time I "caught" him doing something good I was going to give him a sticker. My little boy was totally into this and when I was met with an unhappy response all I had to do was give a little grace and a second chance and say, "why don't you try that again with a happy heart" and he was all over it. He loved seeing all the good things he had done that day and he took it very seriously that we were to encourage each other to do good things. But here's the part I didn't bargain for. Aiden started giving me stickers. It was so convicting to hear my three year old say, "Thanks for getting me a sippy cup, Mama. I'm going to give you a sticker. You are so sweet!" So yes, there I was thinking that I was going to transform my three year old's heart, when all along God used my little man to transform my heart. Oh, the things we learn from our children.
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