Almost a month ago my sweet, compliant child entered into the stage of testing, whining, and at times an unpleasant attitude. Have you ever been there? I was constantly correcting, disciplining, praying over his attitude, and IT IS TIRING. One day as I was asking the Lord to give me His wisdom and discernment for how to get a hold of my boy’s little heart and actions, I felt like He gave me a word. I kept thinking of the phrase “teachable twos.” God gently reminded me of what a pivotal point in his life this is to train him and teach him obedience, self control, choosing a sweet attitude, how to be kind, and all the other areas we are working on. The Lord also reminded me that this season was a teachable one for ME as well. You see, as parents we can sometimes feel like we have it all together with parenting our children. Then enter the twos, where the Lord can teach us humility and utter dependence on Christ for how to handle situations and how most importantly to teach our sweet children about Christ. But we can only learn if we have a teachable heart.
So just as I am praying for my son to have a teachable and receptive heart towards correction I am praying the same over mine, because I have A LOT to learn in this season, and I am in desperate need for the Lord’s grace and training in ME.
Let these years be viewed as important for us as they are for our children. God knew what He was doing when He gave us these important training times and He is so gracious to teach us through them. May we be desperate for His wisdom, humbled in prayer, receptive to His voice, and covered in the precious grace we need.
Comments 4
What a wonderful perspective to have! I’m glad you wrote this and I’m going to remember to think of this phase (when I enter it) as The Teachable Twos, for him and me!
This period in time will not be in vain. Your perspective is beautiful and glorifying to God. I know a few moms who only complain and “can’t wait for it to be over” — it’s totally understandable, but what a waste if all we do is wish it away and not look for the purpose God has for all of us in such a trying season.
I have often thought of “the terrible twos” with fear, because it sounds so hard. But now I’ll try to change my perspective, pray for confidence and a soft heart and look toward that phase with the knowledge that it’s a pivotal time for me and Lochlan, and a beautiful opportunity for growth.
Thank you!
Leah,
Thank you SO much for your continual encouragement and feedback. I am so encourage that you take the time to do that. I am grateful the Lord is so kind to teach me and convict me in great ways in this journey. Hope you are doing great!
I feel like God led me to your blog at this particular moment in my life. Thank you for giving me this new perspective on parenting my strong-willed 2yr old daughter!
Your welcome! Its so difficult but I know you are doing a wonderful job! Blessings to you!