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“Then he said to her: ‘You are now talking like a person without sense. If we accept the good from God, shouldn’t we also accept the bad?’ Under it all, Job did not sin with a single word.” – Job 2:10
We have a lot of beautiful grandchildren. I make no secret of the fact that I am very proud of them and grateful that the Lord has given us this gift. A Reverend’s grandchildren are just like other people’s grandchildren. Very cute but often defiant, mischievous and even naughty.
There are few things as challenging as a child throwing a “floor nut”. No, I’m not talking ugly because it’s a layman’s term in Afrikaans for those outbursts of toddlers.
To “tantrums” to throw is peculiar to children. Children have a tantrum when they don’t get their way. Yes, I realize that all sorts of educational principles come into play here, but let’s stop with willful obstinacy. The child wants what he wants and that’s it.
The beautiful child doesn’t give a damn either. It takes a lot of appeasement, nice talking and sometimes threats to free him from this behavior.
Fortunately, children grow up and learn the skills, which come with good education, to deal with the frustrations of life in a responsible manner.
You don’t get everything you want. It’s an indisputable truth. The sooner you come to terms with it, the better off you and others will be.
This does not mean that one should not have dreams and work hard to make them a reality.
Sometimes even dreams come to nothing, they remain in the mind, they beckon from afar but you eventually die without it becoming a reality. This is part of life’s frustration. On the other hand, the Lord knows better. He knows what is good for us and what we should rather be guarded against.
The kind of monkey convulsions belong to children. It’s not acceptable, but it’s understandable because they don’t yet have the skills needed to handle disappointment.
Adults throwing tantrums are unacceptable. It comes in a variety of ways. Some fight, others withdraw, some suffer silent convulsions, others blame.
Some blame, even to God, and others curse life.
The sooner we grow up, the better for everyone. Make peace with the fact that everything doesn’t necessarily happen the way we want it to.
That famous prayer is in question here and I freely translate it:
God gives me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. − Reinhold Niebuhr
- ToekomsVenster is a daily message to equip individual believers with practical faith skills. Small group accompaniments, DVDs and functional sermon sketches are available from Drienie ([email protected]) or visit www.toekomsvenster.co.za
