A lesson on Grace

Mr. Sticky Fingers spent most of the day on April 7, 2013 TRYING to eat a Burrito.  I had several reasons why I was determined to make him eat that burrito:

 

1) It was healthy and good for him.

 

2) We don't have $ $ $ to waste on good food.

 

3) I want him to learn that he can do hard things.

 

Also
~food is not just for our enjoyment/entertainment and sometimes we need to eat things that are not tasty.

 

We started our lunch at the beginning of the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference(to learn more click here).  Fingers took two bites then spent the next two hours (the whole of conference) staring at his burrito.  So I told him he could get down from the table and eat the burrito for dinner.

 

Later at dinner he was able to muscle down half the burrito..
... out of pure starvation, I am sure.

There were many tears.

"I just can't do it," he kept pleading.  I would assure him that he could.  I felt the grid lock of mine and Finger's opposing will.  I wanted him to learn a lesson, the reasons as previously stated, but felt the only thing he was learning is that "if I just wait her out Mom will surely back down" or "I will never eat anything again the rest of my short life."

 

At 8:00 p.m. (3 hours after dinner began) Fingers came into my room. At this point I was exhausted from our battle and so was he.  he came to me with an idea.

"Mom, you don't want to waste the burrito right?  So why can't someone else eat it for me?"

 

LIGHT BULB!!!

 

TEACHING OPPORTUNITY!

 

Me: "So, you have done all that you can? 

You cannot possibly finish the task that you are required to do?

You need a Savior to come in and do the rest that you can't do..."

At this point I was hoping he would catch on to what I was referring to... but his light bulb wasn't on yet, so I continued:

 

"This is just like what Jesus Christ did for us with the Atonement.  We come to earth and make mistakes, this makes it so we can't go back to live with Heavenly Father because we aren't perfect and clean.  We need a Savior to do the rest that we can't do so that we aren't dammed to sit at the table the rest of eternity... staring at a nasty burrito."

 

A trickle of understanding came across his face.  I told him I would eat the rest of his burrito then he would be free to eat something else to satiate his hunger.

 

After I ate the burrito and before he took his first bite of his bless-ed banana muffin he looked me in the eyes and said,

 

"Thank you."

 

It felt amazing.  I thought had just earned a gold star in parenting.

Then Honey Bear (HB) came into the Kitchen and said, "Fingers!  You did it!  You ate the burrito!"

 

"No," I said.  "I did."

 

HB was confused so I told Fingers to explain to HB what he learned.

 

Fingers said, "I don't know... something about A.... A.... atonement????"

 

HB: "What is the atonement?"

 

Fingers: "I don't know."

 

Crestfallen, I went to bed. 

 

Take my gold star away. 

 

The boy learned nothing.

 

Oh well... I tried.  That better count for something.

 

That's all I've got.