A Good Report

Can you see the smile on my face?  I wanted to take a second to give a good report, since it’s only during the low, trying, exhausting times that I usually write snippets about the kids.  And because I’m wondering if maybe I wrote enough about how trying and exhausting Dutch was that enough of you started feeling sorry for me that perhaps you started praying!  Because somebody must have been praying.

For about 48 hours I’ve had a glimpse of what it must be like to have an obedient child. 🙂  Seriously, I do not know what has come over my son.  We had two days at home, Friday and Saturday–with Jeff home both days. I took half the day of both days to get away and study for Bible study, so Jeff stayed with the kids and had Daddy time.  Perhaps that’s what did it, I don’t know. But by some miracle, Dutch has been an obedient, delightful dream! What happened?  Seriously, Friday we had a great day. Saturday Jeff left mid-day for work/church and neither kid napped because they both had explode-everywhere poops, so I had both of them in the bathtub and was bracing myself for a long evening since we still had church that night.  I had to get the church early to work on some stuff and I knew Sunday we had a ministry fair in the afternoon, so I was also bracing myself for a battle there as well.

But then…

While I printed and cut out women’s ministry postcards, Dutch sat quietly in his stroller in the church office, happily eating a sandwich and playing with his truck, for 20 minutes. What?!!  He wasn’t even strapped in!  Usually it’s like a WWF match just to keep him in that thing.

Then, when I finished he said cheerfully, “I want to go to my room now!” (his children’s church room). Ok getting him to go to children’s church usually is a agonizing 15 minute process with whining and bribing and clinging and fits and usually leaves me late for church.  He climbed out of his stroller, marched into the room and began playing happily, not even noticing when I left. What?!!!

After church, he usually then throws a fit about leaving.  This time he helped the nursery worker pick up the toys (?!!), then skipped right over to me, climbed into his stroller (that has never happened) and politely asked for some apple juice.  (WHAT?!)  Delirious with joy we went home and I got him his juice, we played and read books, and then he climbed obediently into bed without a fuss.  We lay in bed and snuggled and then he prayed: “Dada God, Kant nu for my new blue curtains.”  What?! A toddler son who notices the new blue curtains I bought from Pier 1?  Was I in heaven?

Then today, he played with Heidi in the tub, played by himself for 30 minutes while I showered and got ready for church, climbed happily into the car, walked all by himself down the road and through the parking lot and up to his classroom, walking right beside the stroller without being asked. He still got shy when someone said hi to him, but hey–that’s ok for crying out loud!  He went right up to his room and startedplaying happily again, then stayed up there with his babysitter while I did the ministry fair.  When I brought him a pretzel to eat he gobbled it happily and didn’t even cry when I left. Then when I came back he ran and greeted me and jumped into my arms.  Then he walked obediently all the way out of church and to the car (we had to park off church property since it was so packed).  Climbed into the car obediently.  We got home, he ate his snack, then without a fuss marched upstairs for his nap.  And that’s where is now.

Can somebody tell me who kidnapped my son and gave me this new one?! 🙂  I’m joking, and I don’t mean to tell this like I’m bragging because guaranteed it’s not the result of something magic and chances are tomorrow we’ll be back to world war III.  But I just felt like I had better be fair and give a good report, since usually I only write about the struggles.  And I just wanted to thank God for a little glimpse of joy. I have never enjoyed Dutch so much in his almost 3 years of life. He’s been such a delight–even on the way home I told him how incredibly happy he was making mommy and he said, “I happy too!”  (usually he only says “I not happy!”)  Seriously pinching myself right now.

So for however long it lasts–a few more minutes or hopefully a tad longer, I am thankful for God for this little sweet period of joyful obedience from our son.  I bet the joy God feels when we obey is just like this, only infinitely more.  Makes me want to bless Him by joyfully obeying Him as well.

I just had to give a good report. And in all seriousness, if you did pray for us, thank you.  You bless my life.