A Different Nail-Head

            Sometimes, Our Daily Bread hits the nail squarely without intent ... not that they don't intend to be relevant, but occasionally I catch a different point than their author tried to make. In the devotional linked above, Joe Stowell used a personal anecdote about one of his sons. Of course, his point was well-taken, but his unintended point really struck my nail-head.
            In our high pressure lives, manically climbing the success and influence ladder--for our family, of course--our rugrats(no offense intended, just speaking from a young parent's perspective) don't always cooperate with our agenda. Sometimes, in fact, they seem to succeed more in bothering, than in blessing.
            So, let's take a brief eagle (the cliche, gander, somehow misses the image of visually examining) at the typical parenthood timeline:
            For perhaps five years, we're stuck with the "dirty" work of changing diapers, wiping up messes, listening to a constant, interrogatory prattle, and kissing owies. Praise God, we then get a five year break, when the kids are perfect little angels--IF they're girls.
            Beginning at the neighborhood of ten years-of-age, our little blessings learn they aren't, after all, small extensions of Mommy and Daddy. And, if all goes perfectly, they pass out of "The Dark Chasm of Adolescence" in another ten years.
            So, let's see; fifteen years out of the fifty-or-so years God gives us to know them ... that's roughly three-tenths of their lives with us, and about three-sixteenths of our lives(presuming an eighty-year life span). Seems like a pittance, does it not? And if we can get past the stupid idea that our children amount to no more than the movie character, "Mini Me," God will bless us with truly wonderful friends--friends that will provide precious support and solace in our advancing years. Not a bad investment, eh?
            Even if our heads are hard-as-nails, we need to give our children the love we hope to receive from them. For despite all appearances, their heads are not hard-as-nails. Quite the opposite, in fact. Research shows that for each negative comment directed at them, TWENTY sincerely positive comments are need to counteract it.
            One day, we'll realize how trivial our children's inconveniences are when they're little--and not-so little--compared to their potential for becoming our best friends ever.