Monday July 25, 2016 Stubborn

Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.  Proverbs 28:14

I look back with fondness on when my children were in their “Terrible Twos”.  Where every other word was NO!  They were each contrary in their own way and I received some sage advice from my mother-in-law.  “Someday, you will want them to say NO to some things that are wrong.  It is okay to let them practice.”  She of course was right!  I wanted them to say NO and stand up for what they believed in, and do what was right instead of following the crowd who wanted them to shoplift, drink, use drugs or sleep around.  Learning how to say NO was a good thing.

I wanted them to fear to do wrong!  In many cases that meant stubbornly clinging to what they knew was right!  I have read many studies that compare teenagers with two year olds.  The testing of authority, the awkwardness caused by dramatic bodily changes  and the stubbornness are common denominators for each age.  As a parent, I wondered what happened to my once beautiful and obedient child.  In both cases they finally returned to me and I realized the “This too shall pass” is a sentiment that I learned to hold tightly with HOPE.

I am sure God looks down on His children and realizes that in many cases each of us is like a toddler or a teen.  I know that I have stubbornly rebelled and held tightly to my own will when I needed to say YES and obey… and fear to do wrong.  I am so blessed that He welcomed me home, forgiving me my sinfulness.   I imagine Him, shaking His head when I, headstrong and petulant, headed down a sinful path.

Lord I am so grateful that You are a forgiving Father who accepts me when I stubbornly set off going a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction.  Thank You for calling me back home. 

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