Quick Cures

A year ago I started reading chapter books to my preschoolers during lunch. Their favorite characters thus far have included Ramona, Dr. Doolittle, Pippi Longstocking, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Each chapter of a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book focuses on a different child who needs to be cured of a bad habit of some sort such as forgetting to care for a pet, not putting away toys, not wanting to go to bed at night, lying, or not brushing their teeth. Most of the children are cured in less than a week. One of my nephews was an avid thumb sucker. My sister had one conversation with her son, and he never sucked his thumb again. Amazing. Very few bad habits are eradicated that easily or quickly. I am by nature a rather perseverant person and not prone to giving up, but I have been pushed to the edge with teaching my middle child to eat. However, eating is not an optional skill. I am clinging to Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." As I work with my children, I also have opportunities to stretch and grow. Ten years from now he'll probably be eating me out of house and home, but for now I long for the day when he can feed himself dinner in less than two hours. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31).