Aggravating.
They ground you down over time with constant questioning. Incessant begging. It never stops. You wonder why they carry on that way so much. It;s clear that they will not stop until they get it.
Children. Sure they say they love you, but when they get their minds set on something, you take a distant second place to them getting that thing. They beg, they nag, they sulk, they plead, they give you ‘those’ eyes. Then they make themselves indispensable. Being helpful, offering to be helpful, volunteering their helpfulness. Over time and effort they whittle away at you until finally they get it. And what do they do once they get it? Leave you alone for a week while they enjoy what they have, then the novelty factor wears off and before long they find something else to put you in that distant second place.
That’s aggravating.
What’s fascinating is seeing the parent chip away at their child. Chip away at the selfish tendencies. Chip away at the desire to fulfil themselves. Chip away at their moments of inadequacy, anxiety and fear. Chip away at the old to craft and curate the new.
That’s not a task that’s done with nagging and pleading and begging. That’s not an activity that you do quickly. That is not something that you do by the offering of treats. Perseverance, kindness, the capacity to endure and overcome setbacks and misunderstanding.
Yet there are those rare moments of delight when it all works out. When the child, now a parent in their own right, finally fully realises what it was all about. Not just realises but embraces the effort. The effort for them to no longer wallow in self pity, or self-indulgence. The effort for them to realise they were not made to be enslaved by sin, but liberated to righteousness.
Wouldn’t that be good news to realise that? That would be good news. That wouldn’t be …
Aggravating.
(Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 