As our girls and I were grocery shopping this week, we were suddenly startled to hear a young child one aisle over, yelling at the top of her lungs, "I hate you!" As we turned the corner we soon realized it was a girl about age six lashing out at her own mother. The problem? Her mother was not buying her the Easter gifts and treats that she wanted. The young girl's ranting and raving then continued to escalate, until it was loud enough for the entire store to hear. On and on she went about how absolutely horrible her mother was for purchasing second rate Easter items.
But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I witnessed something that literally made me sick to my stomach. In her sweetest possible voice, the mother gently leaned over to her daughter and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry honey! I didn't know you didn't like the things I picked out for you. I will get you whatever you want," and proceeded to hand her daughter a giant, lavender teddy bear. "Will this make you happy?" the mother asked. The girl quickly grabbed the bear from her mothers hand and nodded her head. In the background I saw grandma, smiling in approval. Oh dear, this was a generational problem I was witnessing! The store was once again quiet, but at what cost?
I pushed my cart not knowing what to do. One one hand, I wanted to run over to this woman and give her guidance from God's Word. But on the other hand, I wasn't in the mood to get chewed out by a total stranger! Besides, what would I say? "Um, excuse me, I see that your child is completely out of control because you've spoiled her to death, and if you don't do something now you're going to greatly regret it later! Yes, I'm sure that would have gone over real well.
After praying about it...I think the Lord is instead leading me to make up a little homemade tract that has some gentle words and Bible verses regarding God's love and His plan for the family. So that the next time I find myself in this situation (and you know that I will!) I can lovingly approach the mom, give her my little booklet for later reading, and hopefully she'll be thankful that I took the time to try and help her. If not, I guess I'll just run like the dickens!
Who ever plans for these life lessons when you're just trying to grab some bananas and bread? I think the problems run so much deeper than we know. More than just parenting. Any problems we try to solve outside of God's grace and truth are just like sticking band-aids on a heart attack. The heart needs Jesus pure and simple. Will pray the Lord gives you wisdom : )
ReplyDeleteLove the new look on your blog! Very pretty! : )
Oh Melissa, you couldn't be more right. I'm sure the chaotic outburst we witnessed in the grocery store was merely the tip of the iceberg. But here's the thing...typically when I'm faced with situations like this I think, "Oh Lord, the problems in these people's lives are so monumental...how on earth can I minister to them in three minutes?" and then feeling at a loss, I walk away. But I don't want to walk away anymore. I want to at least talk with them for a minute and hand them something they can read later on when things calm down. At least it might plant a seed. We'll see. :-)
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