sooo, this past weekend we had a little challenge in the mckanna household…and i have to say it was quite the challenge!!! whenever sunday afternoon rolls around you can find us all in the house and getting settled in for a snoooze…but for some reason little miss molly did not think that she needed to take a nap this week…she thought that it was time to play, read, sing…you name it, she was doing it…except for sleep that is…
i took the first thirty minute battle with her…into her room we went…she was up in the big girl bed and i laid beside it on the floor so she wouldn’t get out…she would lay there and talk for a couple minutes and then she would sit up to see if i was still there…back down she would go and back to her talking and singing and whatever else you want to call it…this continued for thirty minutes, despite several scoldings from her father…
sooo i came out and told mommy it was her turn…i needed a break!!! and mommy went round and round with her for the next twenty to thirty minutes…to no avail of course…molly comes marching out to the living room as if she had just won the republican ticket for 2012…it was my turn once again to get miss molly to take a nap…
sooo back into the room we went, assuming our previous positions…she was crying at this point and just fighting sleep with everything she had…still sitting up to see if i was there…and when she would see me, the crying would resume…each time the volume would creep up one decibel level…until i finally decided to pick her up and sit in the rocking chair…i told her to lay her head down and she did…but i had to keep my hand on her back to keep her from climbing down…and boy did she want to climb down…the screams and tears were very real at this point…she was not wanting to sleep and she was not happy to say the least!!!
but finally she gave in…she was exhausted from fighting and couldn’t take it anymore…i had rocked her in the chair for at least twenty minutes…the whole time she was fighting, screaming, crying…my shirt was soaked with tears and snot…the neck of my shirt was stretched from her tugging away…but she finally fell asleep…
i knew that molly needed to sleep…otherwise no one would survive the remainder of the day…i knew that she wasn’t feeling the greatest and that rest would do her a lot of good…i knew that she had a big night ahead of her and would need the energy so she could play with all of her friends at church…i had to be patient with her…
while i was sitting in the rocking chair with her, all i could do is pray…and i was thanking God for how patient He has been and continues to be with me…i can’t imagine the number of times that God has known what was lying ahead for me and yet i fought to do what i wanted…how many times God wanted what was best for me and yet i wanted nothing to do with it…how many times i wanted to get busy with things and He wanted me to rest, He knew i needed to rest…
i love being a father…i love the countless ways that God blesses my life through being a father…i love the lessons that i continue to learn…and this is just one more lesson…
a father’s patience…
Oh my…what a day! Glad she finally caved! I’m sure you needed a nap just as bad as she did after all that! God’s patience is unfathomable!