It is the end of Mother's Day weekend...the weekend where this mom was expecting to be pampered and spoiled. For the most part, I was, but I forgot that I have a daughter who is 14. That means she is at the age where she believes the world revolves around her, a lot of the time.
When my daughter first hit this phase of her life, I posted a blog about her. (Having a Teenage Daughter.) It is still very much true about having a teenage daughter and I have heard that it can last until she is 18 years old or so. Oh, I need prayer.
Saturday night my husband and I went out and our daughter went to the mall with some friends. She had shopped for my Mother's Day gift and was so excited that she waited only until midnight to present me with a pair of beautiful tri-colored hoop earrings. They are beautiful and I really love them.
But something happened on Mother's Day afternoon and my excited daughter became angry with me. She decided that I was undeserving of those earrings and wanted to take them back. It broke my heart. Even though I knew she was upset, it crushed me to know that she changed her mind about giving them to me.
Long story made very short, the earrings were presented back to me. Not without tears and apologies.
I had planned on wearing the earrings today and decided not to. My daughter and I were still at odds this morning and we had another wicked fight. I was hurt, she was hurt and I could not wear the earrings because I did not feel that I deserved to.
This evening my daughter asked me if I had worn them. When I told her how I felt, she made me promise to wear them tomorrow. I think I will.
I know that I don't deserve them. I don't deserve her apology and honestly she doesn't deserve mine either. We both behaved very badly. This morning, when I was tempted to behave the way she deserved (at one point I did), I was challenged (by the Holy Spirit, I am sure) to respond to her in the way that God does when I don't deserve his grace and mercy. This thought stopped me in my tracks. Unfortunately, it was not soon enough to say I was Christ-like through out the entire conflict, but He did get my attention. And I realized how many times I have yelled at Him, thrown things at Him, told Him how much He has let me down and He never yelled back at me, never threw anything at me, and only tells me how He wants what's best for me...even when it is hard for me to understand.
As a mother of a teenage daughter, I must keep this in mind as I deal with her outbursts, her self-centeredness, and her irrational behavior. She looks just like me. I pray that I will be able to show her even some of the amount of grace, mercy and love as what God does when I act like a 14 year old in His presence.
So, even though my Mother's Day was not perfect, neither am I. But, I had the perfect lesson for me and for my daughter as we love one another and as I continue to try and point her to Jesus Christ. After a day like today, she does know that it is only through Him that I can be a good Mom.
But something happened on Mother's Day afternoon and my excited daughter became angry with me. She decided that I was undeserving of those earrings and wanted to take them back. It broke my heart. Even though I knew she was upset, it crushed me to know that she changed her mind about giving them to me.
Long story made very short, the earrings were presented back to me. Not without tears and apologies.
I had planned on wearing the earrings today and decided not to. My daughter and I were still at odds this morning and we had another wicked fight. I was hurt, she was hurt and I could not wear the earrings because I did not feel that I deserved to.
This evening my daughter asked me if I had worn them. When I told her how I felt, she made me promise to wear them tomorrow. I think I will.
I know that I don't deserve them. I don't deserve her apology and honestly she doesn't deserve mine either. We both behaved very badly. This morning, when I was tempted to behave the way she deserved (at one point I did), I was challenged (by the Holy Spirit, I am sure) to respond to her in the way that God does when I don't deserve his grace and mercy. This thought stopped me in my tracks. Unfortunately, it was not soon enough to say I was Christ-like through out the entire conflict, but He did get my attention. And I realized how many times I have yelled at Him, thrown things at Him, told Him how much He has let me down and He never yelled back at me, never threw anything at me, and only tells me how He wants what's best for me...even when it is hard for me to understand.
As a mother of a teenage daughter, I must keep this in mind as I deal with her outbursts, her self-centeredness, and her irrational behavior. She looks just like me. I pray that I will be able to show her even some of the amount of grace, mercy and love as what God does when I act like a 14 year old in His presence.
So, even though my Mother's Day was not perfect, neither am I. But, I had the perfect lesson for me and for my daughter as we love one another and as I continue to try and point her to Jesus Christ. After a day like today, she does know that it is only through Him that I can be a good Mom.
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