Parenting lessons from Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit

The other day Olivia and I were reading The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter. (Mike commented on the change in what comes home from the library once you have children. Once Band of Brothers, now Olivia Forms a Band. Once A Tale of Two Cities, now The Tale of Tom Kitten.)

Anyway, most of you have probably heard the tale. Mrs. Twitchit brinks her rambunctious kitties inside to clean them up for a tea party she is hosting. She bathes and brushes them, then dresses them in very cute, very impractical clothing - especially for cats. Then she turns them out into the garden with instruction to stay on their hind legs and stay clean while she gets her tea ready.

Well, even if you haven't heard the story you can imagine what happened. They tired of walking wobbly on their hind legs, fell in the dirt, climbed walls, stained and ultimately lost all their clothing to a bunch of rowdy puddle ducks. Mrs. Twitchit is furious when she finds them. She smacks them and sends them upstairs, then lies to her guests by reporting that her kittens have the measles and cannot join them for tea.

Mrs. Twitchit's issues with anger and honesty aside, I was immediately convicted by how I expect things from my children (and friends and family for that matter) that they are not yet capable of. I expect Olivia to act like she is twelve not two. Like putting clothes on a cat and expecting it to walk around on its hind legs - and behave human which it is not, I expect Olivia to understand time and consequences and relational and spiritual realities that she is not yet able to grasp - and then I get frustrated with her when she doesn't.

I found hope, though when I read an excerpt from one of Mike's books the other day - Zach Eswine's Preaching to a Post-Everything World. (I have to keep up with Mike's reading in case I ever need to sub for him in the pulpit. Just Kidding - settle your reformed feathers!)
In reference to how Christendom responds to the conversion of controversial figures like Anne Rice and Francis Collins (Google them if you want to know more about who they are.), Eswine writes:

"Christians and non-Christians alike are unsure of how to respond to these two recent and ardent followers of Jesus. Neat and tidy categories implode. In this environment, instruction and conversion to Christ is returned to a process that takes time. Taking time with people sometimes feels like living in an unfinished house. We tire of washing our dishes in the bathtub while we wait for the sink to be fixed. (Can I get an 'amen' from any other rehabbers?) We long for convenience, routine, and certainty. But taking time with people challenges our notions of perfection. We live with the unfinished, and we are forced to remember ourselves. People need the same amount of time we were once given. They need an environment in which they can get answers wrong and find room to learn what is right."

I shouldn't say anything else. That says enough.