I had an awesome mama moment with my son when he was a toddler.
He dropped an egg and, out of fear, he hid it.
He did admit he dropped an egg.
I am glad he told me.
I gathered towels and went to go help clean up the mess. When I couldn’t find a mess, I asked him about it.
He stammered and lied.
I found where he hid the egg. The shell had barely cracked and the membrane was still intact. There was no mess.
He stared at me, wide-eyed in fear, as I held the cracked egg in my hand.
I told him to sit on the sofa for a minute.
He cried.
I threw the egg out.
I pulled out our Child Training Bible and read aloud the verses on lying and we discussed them and prayed, holding hands. I hugged him and told him how much I love him.
I told him I’m not mad and mistakes happen. I thanked him for telling me he broke an egg, and that I will always help him clean up his mistakes.
He is so much more than a broken eggshell.
Leading him in prayer over the sin of lying was so much easier than yelling, shaming, isolating him in a timeout over a hidden broken egg.
I could have cracked his shell, smeared his soul, and spilled his heart out all over the floor.
I did that too often with my firstborn. We’re still rebuilding.
Too often, we as parents are the reason our children lie. They’re afraid of consequences. They don’t feel safe enough to tell the truth.
Do we as adults feel safe enough for truth?
Don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master. Ephesians 6:4
Forgiveness is good.
How many times do I make a mistake and then hide it, pretend it didn’t happen, or even lie about it (even if I only deceive myself)?
Do you have any mistakes you need help cleaning up?
Jesus would love to help.
I remember doing something similar when I was little and I still remember the trouble I was in. It only made me want to ‘get better’ at hiding my mistakes and faults. I am trying to take the opposite approach with my daughter – as long as she comes to me when she messes up and is honest about it there are no penalties. It’s so much nicer to keep our relationship open and honest than trying to impose harsh penalties. I really like the idea of using the Child Training Bible to read, pray and discuss. What a beautiful moment with your son.
Thanks for linking up to #Fellowship Fridays! What a great post! I just had a situation with one of my daughter’s yesterday. She made a did something wrong out of frustration. But she told the truth about it. While she is still responsible for correcting the mistake, both at school and at home she was told that she made the right decision to be honest about what happened. In this way, problems are minimized and a discussion can ensue. She was very worried about disappointing me and this gave me an opportunity to re-affirm my love for her and my confidence that she is growing into a lovely young woman of character. I so enjoyed this post because I could so relate! ~Julie from ChristianMommyBlogger.com
I love thost mama moments and connecting with our kids!