I’m going to admit something to you. You may deem it an epic parenting fail—but in my
attempts to be completely honest, portraying equally my quirky failures and my likable attributes, I’m going to share it with you.
When my children were young, the number one rule at the grocery store was, “Stay with Mommy.” They must be able to see me at all times. Before we entered the store I would ask them what our number one rule was. They would reply in unison with voices like little angels: “Stay with Mommy.”
Though they knew the rule, they didn’t always abide by the rule. Mesmerized by the plushness of a stuffed doggie or shiny candy wrapper, they’d inevitably wander. So here’s my confession: When I would see them wander too far, I would hide from them.
Yes, you heard that correctly, I would literally hide from them.
I’d hide in a place where I could see them clearly. I would hide to teach them an unforgettable lesson. They were never in danger because my eyes were transfixed on them. They would now experience the consequences of what it looked and felt like to not stay by Mommy.
It began with the realization that I was gone. I would watch the realization hit their face like a Mack Truck: They had broken the number one rule.
At this point, they would start looking around. First slowly, thinking perhaps they hadn’t really lost me. My hiding place was superb, however, so they couldn’t discover me at this point. Next, I could see frantic fear cascade down their faces. An awareness of the direness of their situation. They would start to move in fits and spurts, commencing their desperate search for me.
They would never call out for me initially. They thought they could handle the situation on their own.
And they dreaded getting in trouble. They thought they could just find me on their own and I wouldn't realize they were gone. But that’s not how a mommy works; she knows when her little ones step away from her.
Moms are fierce in their awareness.
When they still couldn’t see me after a brief period of searching, their little hearts would break. The object that had arrested their attention seemed insignificant now; all they wanted was mommy. In part fear, part despair, they would cry out for me. “Mommy!” they would call, their little voices cracking with emotion. Now, mind you this entire process probably happened within a twenty-second window. Yet twenty seconds to a child might as well be an eternity.
At this point, my heart couldn’t bear it any longer. I would step out from my stealthy hiding place, call their name and immediately they would come running.
They knew their mommy’s voice. They didn’t need me to call out to them multiple times.
Desperately they came full-speed running in my direction. Dodging multiple racks of cluttered clothes. Jostling innocent bystanders who blocked their direct route. Readily discarding the item that had captured their heart in the first place. Come hell or high water, they were going to make it back to Mommy.
And when they saw my face—oh, the depth of love I could see in their sweet little eyes. I’d wrap them in my arms, snuggle them, wipe away their tears, and tell them that everything was alright.
I assured them that Mommy had been watching them the entire time. They had always been safe.
I would proceed to tell them never to do that again. I’d entreat them to remember this moment and how important it was to abide by the number one in-store rule: always stay by Mommy. I’d re-explain that the rule wasn’t there to harm them, but to protect them. We’d continue to love on each other for a few precious moments, then we would get a special treat from the checkout aisle.
I didn’t do this hide-and-seek lesson often. Once for each child was all it took and let me tell you, they never forgot it!
Now imagine for a second that I called their name, they took one look at me and turned the other way, crying all the louder, “Mommy, Mommy, where are you?” I’d respond by frantically shouting again. “I’m right here!” After all my hooping and hollering, they still ignored my voice.
We all know that wouldn’t happen. Research shows that by the time a baby is roughly four months old, it can distinguish its parents’ faces over all others. They recognize voices months before that. Studies have shown that a baby can recognize its mother’s voice even before birth!
Because of the closeness a baby experiences in the womb, it learns to distinguish its mother’s voice long before they ever meet. By thirty to thirty-two weeks, to be exact!
If the God of the universe has enough insight and forethought to give an itty bitty unborn baby the ability to hear the voice of its mother before birth, don’t you think God can give us, His children, the ability to hear His voice?
Why would a loving Father want you to wander around life, lost, never being able to fully distinguish His voice? The answer is simple: He doesn’t want that. He wants you to hear His voice loud and clear.
"God wants to speak to you today. He speaks through His word. He speaks through others. He speaks through the Holy Spirit nudging your heart to respond outside your comfort zone. God is speaking all the time. May He give you ears to hear today."
Photo Credit: Tembela Bohle from pexels.com
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