I Warned You, Didn't I?

(05/11/11)

The other day I sat and watched a live church webcast with a friend.  The message was entitled, “What’s a Warning Worth?”; and it helped me to understand that God gives us warnings out of compassion and correction, but most importantly out of love.  Yesterday, God gave me further perspective on this subject.  As I was attempting to get my child going that morning, I continually had to warn her that if she didn’t move, she may not have time to play her game, or even eat breakfast for that matter.  As she dawdled and played, and ate her cereal one piece at a time with her fingers, I continued to remind her of the time, explaining the consequences of her actions as we went.  Finally, though she hadn’t finished her breakfast, I told her that it was time to brush her teeth and that she would not be able to play her game on the way to school because she needed that time to finish her juice… temper tantrum and strike one (warning strike) for the day to follow.

Later that afternoon I picked her up from afterschool and took her to the grocery store.  She loves to push the cart.  As we walked through, I had to keep reminding her to follow me.  I would turn around, and she would be several feet behind me looking at anything that happened to catch her eye.  Now usually, I try to have plenty of patience with her because she has ADHD, but this evening, as she continued to ignore my many warnings, my patience was wearing thin.  I tried saying “please” and “do you hear me?”… then it turned into “the count” (“If you don’t get here by the time I count to…”)… then the final warning: “The next time you ignore me, it’s an automatic strike.”  Well, as I’m sure you have discerned by now, strike two and crying trailed closely behind.

I tried to have a talk with her, making sure she understood why she was losing her TV privilege for the night, and warn her again about what would happen if she got strike three.  I thought maybe it was successful, until I tried getting her ready for bed.  First she went into my room to get ready for her shower, and locked my door behind her while going through my drawers.  Then when I told her to go to the bathroom she told me she didn’t have to.  When I told her to try, she said, “Well, I guess I really do.” This was her way of getting out of a lie, which led to an automatic strike three (removal of all privileges) and more screaming and crying.

Needless to say, it was a rather stressful day with my child; however, in the midst of all the mess, I was reminded again of all the warnings our Heavenly Father gives us.  Sometimes His warnings are given in order to protect us from others; but many times it’s to protect us from ourselves (just like any parent does with his/her child).  Below I have given the website address for the webcast with Pastor Bob Coy preaching from Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale entitled “What’s a Warning Worth”.  It’s a great message, and I encourage you to watch if you can make the time.  I also have a listing of a few of the passages that he referenced so that you may follow along better with the message.  I hope it is a blessing to you as it was to me.

http://media.calvaryftl.org/player/?fn=A1522

       Joel 1                                       1 Corinthians 11:31-32 
Hebrews 12                                        Proverbs 12:1