Y’all, I LOVE my kids, with every fiber of my being, with every breath I take, with every toy I step on, and butt I wipe. I love them! God has given us moms and dads this amazing capacity for love that we didn’t even know was humanly possible until we held that baby in our arms. And He multiplies it! Each additional child we had, I couldn’t even imagine having more love to give, but, oh, did I ever! I can love them, but hear me out, I can’t tolerate my children.
What if we were called to tolerate them? What if, as the world teaches tolerance, that was the best we had to offer our children? We would fail miserably! I mean, raise your hand if you can’t tolerate your children.
I Cannot Tolerate my Children
Wow, that sounds awful, doesn’t it? Not being able to tolerate your children? What kind of monster are you?! But see, here’s the thing, if you look up the definition of tolerate this is what you will find: verb; allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference. Without what now? Without interference? Do you do that with your children? Oh, I do not like or agree with the hitting of your brother, but I will allow it, without interference, because that is what any good and tolerant person would do.
NO! Just, no. Goodness, I sometimes have days when I have to interfere with every single unmanageable behavior you can imagine. We do not sit idly by and tolerate their every decision. We are trying to raise decent human beings, you know, the kinds that don’t just walk up and take things from other people, the kinds that don’t throw themselves all over the store floor because they can’t get what they want, the kinds that no longer pee or poop on themselves (because, at some point we certainly stop tolerating that, am I right?). We don’t tolerate our children. We love them.
Applying Love
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