Faithfulness

This month I'm shifting focus to the virtue of faithfulness, a virtue that encompasses a whole bunch of other virtues, like loyalty and constancy and being trustworthy.  It is a virtue that asks this question: faithful to what?  Our opportunity for growth is in our answer. 

Each time I've gazed at a new baby placed on my chest in those moments after giving birth I've had the same thought: you are perfect.  As days, weeks and months go by in that baby's first year I can never imagine myself having to reprimand this little one.  I can't even fathom having to say no to anything its little heart desires!  Each baby is just perfect, just wonderful; its needs completely reasonable, understandable.  We are in sync and life is one big, hippie love-in.

Until those babies turn two.  Then I find myself doing the unthinkable on a daily basis: time-outs, forceful "no's," flat-out bribery. 

Almost every day sees me offer up an apology.  This usually happens when I've been unfaithful - what I mean is, that I've forgotten the people I know my kids to be.  I'll think they're rotten or malicious or thoughtless and so I treat them like the rotten, malicious and thoughtless people they are.  And there's my mistake.  My kids might be acting this way, in this particular moment - but I need to remember that that's not really who they are.  Their actions are reactions to a situation or feeling - and my job is to teach them how to act and react well, in a way that doesn't hurt anyone or anything.  To do that I need to remember my vision of the soul of the little person that was placed on my chest years ago.  I have to have faith and stay faithful to the people I know my children to be, guiding them toward full potential.