About 20 minutes ago I was greatly humbled.
Matt had come home from work late, and while he ate (Asher was playing outside) I recounted a family I had seen earlier in the day while I was out running errands. I told him how disrespectful the children had been to their mother, and how she had simply ignored the behavior rather than correcting it. I, sitting atop my high horse, told of my observations with great detail, being sure to add how I would have handled the situation differently, and how my children will never be allowed to act in that manner. We continued on talking about our son, and how well behaved he is in comparison. We talked about how we always nip bad behaviors in the bud before they become recurring problems. We patted ourselves on the back for our excellent parenting.
Then, Asher walked past us carrying his Spiderman web-shooter. An hour earlier he had asked me to fill it with water, but I was in the middle of nursing the baby so I told him he could fill it up himself in the bathroom sink. So he did, over and over again. I repeated my usual instructions not to shoot the water-gun inside and he gladly agreed.
And then, as Asher makes his way to the bathroom, we hear the word all parents dread when coming from an unsupervised child in another room: "Uh-oh."
"What happened?" we immediately ask in unison.
"I just spilled it. I'm sorry, it was an accident," Asher answers.
Matt looks at me and asks what he's talking about, so I explain how I've been letting Asher refill the water shooter by himself. "He must have spilled some water on the floor," I concluded.
So, my unsuspecting husband walks toward the bathroom and says, "What in the world?!" in that daddy voice that kids and mommies don't want to hear.
Asher's voice suddenly starts to waver as he apologizes again. Matt says, "Asher, what is this??" in such a tone that I realize it's something more than just spilled water. So, still holding the baby to myself, I get up and walk into the hallway to find a giant puddle of mud splattered all over the floor.
"Did you put dirt in your water shooter?" I ask, alarmed.
Timidly Asher answers, "Well... uh... yes."
That's when the realization hits Matt and me at precisely the same moment. We both make our way to the door and see, outside, that Asher has sprayed mud all over the side of the house, the porch, the bbq, and all the toys within shooting range.
At this point Asher is gasping between heavy sobs of remorse, saying, "sorry sorry sorry sorry" over and over again. After asking Asher why on earth he'd think it would be okay to put mud all over the house, Matt tells him he's very disappointed. He may as well have given him 40 lashes. Asher is crushed. At this point we're not even angry anymore because Asher is so visibly shaken by his realization that he's disappointed us by his naughtiness. Still, Matt has to go outside and hose down everything with mud on it. Which is a lot of things. Asher sits silently in the bathroom, naked because he's gotten mud all over his clothes, which I'd specifically told him not to do when he went outside.
And this all happened at the home of the world's greatest parents, who were patting each other on the back for their parenting skills at the exact moment their perfect son happily shot mud all over the side of the house with a Spiderman web shooter.
Needless to say, at bedtime after Asher prayed and told God how sorry he was for what happened, I realized he wasn't the only one who needed to ask forgiveness. I was just as guilty for my pride, and I had been greatly humbled. I have so much to learn.
A few verses I'm currently meditating on...
The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. -Isaiah 2:11
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. -Proverbs 18:12
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. -1 Corinthians 13:4
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. -Proverbs 16:18
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