For ALL have Sinned
You know that verse in the Bible from Romans that is the basis for salvation through faith? This one:
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” –Romans 3:23
I was reminded last night that my children are included in that “all.” Not that I had any doubts, mind you, since I am home with them all day, every day and “get to” do the majority of the disciplining. (Fun stuff.) But my firstborn, my darling Andy — who generally has the most tender heart toward pleasing God and helping others — pulled a whammy on me last night.
Let me back-up and explain that a few nights ago, I made chicken and dumplings with mixed veggies mixed right in. This was a little plot I had to get Andy to eat the vegetables since he’s not a big fan of most of them. (Strangely, the boy loves kale greens and lima beans, but carrots do not top his list.) He quickly ate the chicken and the dumplings out of the gravy / sauce, but left his veggies and tried to declare he was done.
My uber-patient husband (reason #507 that I love him,) explained — again — to Andy that the vegetables taste just like the gravy and that he needed to eat them before they got cold. After the rest of us got up from the table, Andy picked at his food while I washed dishes. Eventually, he said he was done and showed me his empty bowl. I exclaimed how proud I was of him and gave him a “See? That wasn’t so bad.”
Fast forward to two hours later when I happened to walk by the table and see that there was a smattering of mixed vegetables under Andy’s chair. That got a hearty “Andrew Joseph, you need to go see your Dad” from me. My husband quickly put two-and-two together (that’s the police officer in him) and took care of the situation. That late in the day, you don’t want a tired and pregnant Momma to do the disciplining if you can avoid it.
I know this is getting long, but this brings us to last night. We had ravioli in meat sauce. (Yes, it had meat in the ravioli, too. Remember? I have to eat LOTS of protein.) Andy loves spaghetti and would eat it every day if I’d let him. But last night, he decided not to like ravioli. To make a long story short, we had a repeat performance… and then an encore!
No joke. After everyone got up from the table, he spent another 15 minutes poking. Then he proclaimed himself done and showed me an empty plate. And… I fell for it. Dummy me. About an hour later, I noticed the ravioli on the floor, under his chair. (The boy needs to get more creative.)
So, being the brutal mommy that I am, I played tough love and told him to scoop it back onto a plate and eat it. He sadly sat back at the table and ate while I watched him. I went on and continued with my housework. He showed me a plate and said he was done. I excused him.
THEN… a few minutes later, my husband noticed ravioli under Andy’s chair again. When he told Andy to put it on a plate and try yet again, Nate caught Andy scooping it to a pile under Connor’s chair!
I. Was. Fuming.
Thankfully, Daddy swooped in and saved the day. He set the punishment and enforced it. He got a talk about lying and deceiving and pleasing God with his actions.
And Mommy learned a lesson, too: That boy will never again be excused from the table without me checking under his chair first. Oh, and yeah… my kids are not angels. They’re sinners, just like me.