Patience is a rare and valuable commodity when it comes to parenting. How does one keep one's cool when telling their child for the umpteenth time to wipe their feet on the way in the door, or to speak nicely and stop whining, or to not slam the door?

 

One incredible lesson that I remind myself of daily, is to expect little, and demand much. What do I mean by that? It's easy. Follow God's example in parenting us.

 

First off, the bible says that God knows that we are "but dust". (That is to say, we are "only dust", not "butt dust"! Golly gosh!) But hey, either way you get the point. :) We are made of mud. He is aware of that and he's quite okay with that. What does he expect of us? Not much. Is he surprised when we mess up or can't cope? Nope.

 

However, what does God ask of us? Perfection. He is slowly but surely training us up and changing us (by grace) to be sanctified and more like him. And he does this with out-of-this-world patience!

 

In the meanwhile, he loves us and accepts us and gives us his name and calls us his children, just by grace, exactly as we are. (For more on why and how he does this read this article on Adopted by Grace.)

 

So how can we implement this in our parenting? EXPECT your kids to mess up. Expect babies to pull your hair. Expect toddlers to have tantrums. Expect school kids to forget their lunch boxes and homework books. Expect disobedience, disrespect, and dishonour. That way we are not surprised and shocked into anger. You're far more likely to lose your cool when something catches you off guard.

 

Expect little BUT demand much!

 

While their bad or immature behaviour doesn't come unexpected, you still don't accept it. You calmly and lovingly TRAIN them into correct behaviour. "No, my darling, speaking like that to Mom is unacceptable. You're going to have to be disciplined for that." Or "Uh-oh, you're supposed to listen first time. Off to your room, my love."

 

Expect little. It really helps with your patience. But demand much. That really helps your kids to reach their potential!

 

 

Patience is a Virtue... Do YOU Have It?

 

Let's face it, nothing gets under our skin like screaming babies, lack of sleep, whining kids and crazy jingles on Chinese toys! How do you keep your cool when you're being pulled in a thousand directions? Let us know what makes you flip your lid (so we know we're not alone!), and share some tips to how to control your temper and improve your patience levels.