The Wonders of Kindness

This week, I read something amazing that made me decide to change the way that I was parenting my children. Specifically, my 2 year old.

The way I was doing it before wasn’t the way I chose to do it, nor was it the way I had always pictured. I got caught up in noticing how often my child was misbehaving and not enough on how he wasn’t. I caught myself being a mom that I didn’t want to be.

Two-year-olds can be so difficult at times. I’m sure that every age is difficult (and perhaps even more difficult than twos) but I was struggling with how I responded to him when he was misbehaving. I noticed myself getting angry with him when he would get angry, frustrated when he was frustrated, and loud when he was loud. I would tell myself, “how is he supposed to know that I am upset with his behavior if I don’t show him that I am mad”?

Then God showed me something I needed to hear. Something that I have been wanting to hear, to remind me of who I wanted to be as his mom and a child of God.

If you haven’t heard of the blog called “Mundane Faithfulness” I suggest you visit it and check it out.

I happened upon a post by Blythe Hunt called “Kindness Matters” on their website and something stuck out to me in a beautiful “God-planned” way.

“Anger does not beget heart change; it begets shame. Yelling does not beget understanding; it begets hurt. Harsh words do not beget love; they beget humiliation. Intimidation does not beget kindness; it begets fear. Only kindness begets kindness; kindness begets love.”

WOW. That insert changed me and I felt God speaking to me and telling me that this is why the last 2 weeks with my 2 year old have been so hard. I am so thankful that I stumbled upon this post and took the time to read it because it spoke to my heart in ways that I can’t put into words.

The thing that is even more amazing is what happened the next day (and every day since I read this). I woke up the next morning committed to this statement. I would not get angry with Josiah. I will not yell at him and I will not use harsh words. No matter what.

When Josiah got up and started misbehaving: yelling, throwing things, hitting things… I was not going to use anything other than kindness. I could not believe the day that we had. It was AMAZING the effect that kindness had on him that day. After struggling with him every day for a week, all I needed to do was show him more kindness and love.

Isn’t it amazing how Jesus love us so unconditionally. How we disobey Him and His Word, yet he loves us and shows us kindness continually, no matter what?! Every day, I pray with Josiah that we will remember to love one another like Jesus does to act more like Jesus every day.

How did I ever think anger was going to work anyway? Young children are such imitators, that when I treated him with kindness, love, and patience, he showed me the same in return.

“The Book of Romans tells us that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. I want to love with a kindness that nurtures a hard heart to desire to be soft. God is the only one able to transform someone else’s heart, but if I live a life submitted to Him, then His love will be reflected through me.

@ http://www.mundanefaithfulness.com/home/2015/3/11/kindness-matters