Ahhhh...A Fresh Perspective

Have you ever heard the old saying 'when it rains it pours'? Well it's raining, and I am dancing with joy in the downpour of blessing God is pouring out on our family. As many of you know, we have been exasperated with our oldest child, Taryn. Parenting her has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. She's extremely strong-willed, stubborn, dramatic and sometimes (who am I kidding, most times) downright rebellious. She's only 4. Sigh. We've tried all sorts of discipline techniques...and nothing has seemed to work. We just want her to listen, say yes ma'am or yes sir and obediently comply with whatever we ask at her at all times. Is that too much to ask? So while we've been struggling and frustrated and discouraged with her, wondering if she has behavioral problems already and how we're going to address them, God has been so faithful to be patient with us, waiting for His perfect timing to give us a new perspective. Perhaps, His perspective. I finally had a breaking point, when I finally cried out to the Lord "HELP us and show us what's right for this child!!" We had been hoping that a sister in Christ, whom we had asked to be our kids' nanny, would make the decision to accept the position. That same day I cried out to God, I asked Him if it was His plan for her to take the job, that He would lay it on her heart...and that she would reach out to us. So that afternoon when my phone beeped with a message and I saw it was her, asking us if we were still interested and she was ready to start, I almost dropped my phone. Definite confirmation. The place the kids were at was great, but I just knew that for our daughter we needed something different with her dynamic personality. The following week I started a class with an amazing woman of God called "Parenting a Child's Heart". All I can say is wow. Perhaps, these traits of my daughter are not an indication that she's the naughtiest kid in the world (which, being completely honest, sometimes I feel that way) but that instead, she is a beautiful, gifted, intelligent child who doesn't fit inside the box I had created of what a 4 year old should be. Perhaps, we are causing ourselves undue frustration. We needed a change of perspective, and I am sooooo thankful that God has surrounded us with some strong allies to help us encourage my daughter's gifts, and equip us as parents to do the same. So I am rejoicing in God's goodness, grace and abundant love....and His fresh perspective.