Warning*** If you are a member of Child Services please do not read this post.
Last night around 2:00 am I was woke up by glass shattering. In a sleep-drunk stupor I fumbled my way into Isaiah’s room just to make certain that someone didn’t break out his window to steal him in all of his amazingness. To my enjoyment he was still sleeping soundly, and no windows broken. I made a quick look around the house—saw nothing broken—then just went back to sleep.
This morning our son woke up a little earlier than normal. And it was obvious that he was not going to go back to sleep no matter how much of the Mickey 
Mouse Clubhouse he watched. I could tell that my wife was tired, so I offered to watch Isaiah for a little while before I went to work.
I sat down on the couch to check my e-mail’s and Google Reader, while Isaiah was playing. It couldn’t have been but a couple of minutes that had passed. I looked over and Isaiah is gleefully playing with glass shards. The glass that I heard last night was a drinking glass that my wife had put a flower in; stupid cat (whom we’ll call Battle-axe until my wife notices).
Now before you put us on the prayer chain (which might be needed for various other things) you should know that Isaiah only cut himself on his thumb just a little. And I seriously mean a little. He didn’t even cry or really even notice it. He was more ticked off about having a band-aid on his thumb than the cut.
It could have been much much worse. He was waving a huge chunk of glass in front of his face. So, I am very thankful for the Lord’s protection even in the midst of my ignorance. (By the way Isaiah is 16 months old so I’m not quite as bad for letting him play by himself for a few minutes).
Two questions.
1) How does this illustration relate to the gospel?
2) What are some stupid things you have done as a parent to your child’s detriment?
One time I found my little girl frantically waving a steak knife in front of her face. I had left it in the middle of our kitchen table, thinking it would be safe. While I was in our bedroom folding clothes (our daughter was around 19 months at the time) our girl was running in between our room and her bedroom – a normal thing for her to do. I heard the sound of silverware clanking, didn’t remember leaving anything out, and walked into our kitchen to see my sweet little girl nearly taking her own life in her ignorance (or at least an eye or something…she was waving it pretty wildly). She had climbed up on top of a chair and grabbed the knife from the middle of the table. Yeah, I didn’t do that again.
Regarding the Gospel, I think these moments remind us that our Father is really raising our kids by His grace. We are stewards, and we must work incredibly hard for our child’s safety and wellbeing, but we must ultimately trust God for His grace because we often are really, really bad parents. Also, I think our child’s behavior – playing with a potential fatal thing like it’s a toy – shows us our tendency to “toy around” with sin. How often have I kicked some lust-ridden thought around in my mind, or entertained some notions of sweet-tasting revenge. That’s just a spiritual steak knife (or shard of broken glass) that I’m waving in front of my infantile spirit, enjoying the fun, all the while the thing could potentially kill me – and would do so, if it weren’t for the grace of the Father.
Thanks for sharing, Mike. I don’t think DFS will be hunting you down anytime soon…all parents do stuff like this, right?
Will
I have so many stories its a wonder I’m even a parent. I think God allows it just so my kids can grow up and spend their lives making fun of me as I get old. In all seriousness I’m so glad to hear Isaiah is ok, I know too much that heart stopping ice water down your spine feeling that comes in those moments.