When you have a dozen kids, some sibling rivalries are inevitable. Actually, when you have two kids, sibling rivalries are inevitable. The reason for this is simple; children are evil little beasts. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't evil. In fact, the way that such perfect evil shows up in such an adorable little package that steals your heart before you even have a chance to defend yourself, only reinforces just how wicked these little beasts are. Only pure sin could come wrapped in such an innocent looking package. Now, before you leave nasty comments, click the back button, and decide you'll never read another of my blogs, please allow me to explain.
A couple mornings ago Esther and I were in the bathroom getting ready for the day. Eve and Isaac were also sharing this space with us. Eve sat down whatever object had been occupying her time and Isaac quickly snatched it up to have some of his time occupied. If you have ever been around midget demons, you know what happened next. Upon seeing Isaac with the toy that had so recently been in her possession, well she suddenly found a whole in her heart that could only be filled with the discarded toy that her inconsiderate, hovering, vulture of a brother had so recently and rudely stolen. Well believe me, she had no intention of letting this atrocity stand. She would see justice done. She marched across the bathroom floor and recovered the recently abandoned toy from the younger hands of her tyrannical brother. As parents who are committed to teaching good moral character to our children, we made Eve return the toy to her younger sibling and commenced the farcical, empty, ritual of SHARING. We made Eve let Isaac play with the toy for his "turn" after which she could have her "turn". We institute this instructional activity so that Eve will learn to not be so consumed with things and rather to value people. Eve proved an ideal student. She allowed Isaac to play with her beloved toy and she responded by following him around, hovering an inch over his head, watching every move her younger brother made, and praying with all the fervency of her two-year-old heart that he would drop the toy so she can "legally" claim it. Our educational plans were were working perfectly.
God seems to favor the prayers of fervent two-year-olds because within a minute or so, Isaac dropped the toy. Eve reclaimed the discarded treasure faster than her teenage brothers can inhale restaurant leftovers. Since she had shown such incredible patience and had resisted the temptation to use the force that was available to her due to her advanced age and development over Isaac, to simply take the toy, we allowed her to have her "turn". Isaac was not cool with this plan. He reached for it with complete assurance that she would return it, and she didn't. He looked confused but apparently decided it was a mishap on Eve's part and tried again. Again Eve would not relent. He practically dove for it. No dice. This is when it happened. From my vantage, I could see rage, yes rage and even rage's sister fury, climb into his face and his wee little fists balled up and started into a full windmill of punches. His fists turned to claws with which he attempted to pull Eve down to his level. He had forgotten the toy and simply wanted to punish the taker of the toy.
Within seconds Isaac was distracted from the toy and he and Eve were playing happily and no blood was shed, but I was forced to contemplate the outburst. Where did Isaac learn that, his Mother? Not me. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever attacked Isaac to steal something from him. He's only one, so I don't think he picked it up from watching violent cartoons or playing violent video games. Truth be told, I don't think he learn it at all. That's just who he is. That's just who we all are. Isn't it funny we don't have to teach kids to be selfish. We don't have to teach them to lie. We don't have to teach them to take what's not theirs. Those things come natural. Goodness has to be taught. Kindness has to be nurtured. Generosity must be fostered. When I watched Isaac try to attack his sister to get what he wanted, I saw me. I saw all the desires that I have that I wrestle with every day; desires to retaliate, to take what's not mine, to be remarkably selfish. I'm broken. We are all born broken. Can we really point fingers at others for their brokenness? If I'm willing to wrestle my inner demons and to overlook and work with the evil midget demon that lives inside my adorable little son, can I do the same for others? Good question.
A couple mornings ago Esther and I were in the bathroom getting ready for the day. Eve and Isaac were also sharing this space with us. Eve sat down whatever object had been occupying her time and Isaac quickly snatched it up to have some of his time occupied. If you have ever been around midget demons, you know what happened next. Upon seeing Isaac with the toy that had so recently been in her possession, well she suddenly found a whole in her heart that could only be filled with the discarded toy that her inconsiderate, hovering, vulture of a brother had so recently and rudely stolen. Well believe me, she had no intention of letting this atrocity stand. She would see justice done. She marched across the bathroom floor and recovered the recently abandoned toy from the younger hands of her tyrannical brother. As parents who are committed to teaching good moral character to our children, we made Eve return the toy to her younger sibling and commenced the farcical, empty, ritual of SHARING. We made Eve let Isaac play with the toy for his "turn" after which she could have her "turn". We institute this instructional activity so that Eve will learn to not be so consumed with things and rather to value people. Eve proved an ideal student. She allowed Isaac to play with her beloved toy and she responded by following him around, hovering an inch over his head, watching every move her younger brother made, and praying with all the fervency of her two-year-old heart that he would drop the toy so she can "legally" claim it. Our educational plans were were working perfectly.
God seems to favor the prayers of fervent two-year-olds because within a minute or so, Isaac dropped the toy. Eve reclaimed the discarded treasure faster than her teenage brothers can inhale restaurant leftovers. Since she had shown such incredible patience and had resisted the temptation to use the force that was available to her due to her advanced age and development over Isaac, to simply take the toy, we allowed her to have her "turn". Isaac was not cool with this plan. He reached for it with complete assurance that she would return it, and she didn't. He looked confused but apparently decided it was a mishap on Eve's part and tried again. Again Eve would not relent. He practically dove for it. No dice. This is when it happened. From my vantage, I could see rage, yes rage and even rage's sister fury, climb into his face and his wee little fists balled up and started into a full windmill of punches. His fists turned to claws with which he attempted to pull Eve down to his level. He had forgotten the toy and simply wanted to punish the taker of the toy.
Within seconds Isaac was distracted from the toy and he and Eve were playing happily and no blood was shed, but I was forced to contemplate the outburst. Where did Isaac learn that, his Mother? Not me. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever attacked Isaac to steal something from him. He's only one, so I don't think he picked it up from watching violent cartoons or playing violent video games. Truth be told, I don't think he learn it at all. That's just who he is. That's just who we all are. Isn't it funny we don't have to teach kids to be selfish. We don't have to teach them to lie. We don't have to teach them to take what's not theirs. Those things come natural. Goodness has to be taught. Kindness has to be nurtured. Generosity must be fostered. When I watched Isaac try to attack his sister to get what he wanted, I saw me. I saw all the desires that I have that I wrestle with every day; desires to retaliate, to take what's not mine, to be remarkably selfish. I'm broken. We are all born broken. Can we really point fingers at others for their brokenness? If I'm willing to wrestle my inner demons and to overlook and work with the evil midget demon that lives inside my adorable little son, can I do the same for others? Good question.
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