Saturday, October 4, 2008

Wanting to be his children

I was on the subway earlier today (I live in NYC) and heard a really unfortunate conversation. A mother was talking to a boy of about 4 or 5, yelling at him actually, telling him that she wished he was never born and that he was a horrible child. I don't know what set it off, but it was a horrible experience to have to listen to. How another person raises their child is something I typically stay out of, especially since I am not a parent so I don't have the first hand experience to maybe be as comfortable judging a moment, but this was too much. I was on the verge of stepping in and tactfully asking her to please quiet down (putting it on me having a headache or something) so that this child could get a reprieve, even if it meant deflecting some of her anger at me, when she got off. I felt so bad for this child that I couldn't' give him at least a few minutes of quiet. Some people may disagree and say that I shouldn't have contemplated stepping in, but there is nothing that I could possible think of that a child this small, or any child at all, deserved this kind of barrage.

This incident made me think of how wonderful it is to be the child of God. He doesn't anger, doesn't try to throw us out, tell us we're bad. He loves us for all that we are and all that we are not. When we make a mistake, he loves us, knowing that we are trying to live a good, Christian life. There is no way that he would lead us in to a situation like this, but would love us and guide us when we make a mistake so that we can learn the proper way and then share it with the world. I so wish that I could have shared this message with this women earlier today - that God does truly love us all and that he will see us through it all. Who knows what caused her to react to her this way, but I have been praying constantly for her today, and ask that you think of her today, so that she may come to God's love and be able to raise her son in that way.