A Bad Equation

Claire McGarry’s son pushed her over the edge, but God quickly revealed where she too had gone astray.

I recently had an issue with my teen son that put me over the edge. It was a small thing (him not doing what I asked), but it was the last straw of a much bigger issue that broke my back. I went a bit ballistic!

Leading up to that moment was me investing countless effort and hours helping him resolve a big problem he was facing. I use the word “helping” loosely when referring to his input because he did very little to participate in the solving of it. He also did very little in expressing his gratitude when I finally fixed the issue for good.

The resulting bad equation was: lack of gratitude + ignoring my request = blow my top!

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We did finally reconcile after I cooled off and could calmly walk him through my perspective. Overall, he is a good kid. He saw my side and apologized sincerely.

God then showed me His side the next day when I read 1 Kings 8.

As the Israelites are bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple, they show a deep, deep reverence for it. The passage goes on to say that there was nothing in The Ark except the two tablets with the Ten Commandments on them (1Kings 8:9).

My immediate thought was: “Why don’t my kids revere my rules that much?” If they did, the incident with my son never would have happened.

A heartbeat later, I heard God ask me a series of questions that tied it all together: How often does He spend countless effort and hours helping me to resolve my problems? Do I express enough gratitude when He brings them to resolution? Do I always follow His laws, carrying them with reverence in my heart like my own personal ark?

Click to tweet:
Do I follow God’s laws, carrying them with reverence in my heart like my own personal ark? #CatholicMom

As a mom, I am meant to view my kids through a parental lens: Noting where they go off track and leading them back to the behavior that will help them grow up to be the people God’s calling them the to be.

It always astounds me that, in that process, I see how God views me, and how He highlights where I’ve gone astray. Thankfully, I hear Him call me back to the right path so I can grow in the same way.

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