Every so often I have an exasperating morning when either none or only one of three boys is in a cooperative mood. I had one of those last Sunday and was feeling like we were barely going to make it through church and coffee hour. On the drive home I took the opportunity with my captive audience to ask them to behave a little better by listening and responding when an adult asks them to do something. Sam acknowledged my directions but Andrew remained silent. Sometimes I'm not sure if he's getting what I'm saying since he's only 3 1/2 years old and so I repeated my request for better behavior (I can't remember exactly what needed improving). My words were met with silence and I took in a deep breath, trying to calmly find another way to get through to Andrew. Then a clear voice came from the back: "Mommy, I will, with God's help." Wow. What a great response...I couldn't have come up with a better one myself. There had been a baptism at church and that phrase is repeated several times by the congregation (without the Mommy) so I'm sure that's where he got it, but it led into a great teaching moment that God is always with us, next to us, helping us to do what is right.
