Reflection: In the image of God the Father

Admittedly, I am one of those moms who really looks forward to school breaks. I love having my kids home for some much needed R&R or taking them somewhere fun to make new memories. Then...reality hits when the vacation begins. We drove up to Great Wolf Lodge water park resort for a Fall Break "staycation". No sooner had we settled into our room than the complaining and bickering began. I kept my calm until I didn't. My husband got saint points for taking the kids to the water slides for an hour while I stayed in the hotel room to do some homework for my adult catechesis class at the Kino Institute. (Yes, I will unabashedly plug the program all year long!)
How could these kids be so thoughtless?! Sure, they're good kids for the most part. But they have these moments when they seem spoiled and ungrateful, and act like well, un-discipled kids. I know they'll apologize and we'll have fun but they'll keep making the same mistakes over and over again!  It's exhausting. 
I opened my text book, Understanding the Scriptures and read the assigned reading to help me simmer down. Genesis in a nutshell:  God created a perfect bond between Himself and Adam & Eve. They failed Him when they chose sin over trusting God. Cain failed God when he killed Abel. Lamech was evil, fail. Seth's line, fail. Noah was a righteous man! Oh but eventually, fail. Abraham, the spiritual father of us all. He was obedient, but failed God too!  (Spoiler alert to no one: Jesus and His mother, Mary were the only ones who never failed or sinned against God.) God never fails. He patiently and inexhaustibly keeps His promise. We all make mistakes. You know this. I know this. But at the time, my frustration blinded me from the truth. So I prayed and submitted myself to the Holy Spirit. As I read, the Holy Spirit filled my heart with grace and understanding. As we have learned, God created us in His image. My inclination is to think of myself as a child of God as He is our Heavenly Father, and love him as a reflection of His love for us. That's true. But God also calls us to be like Him as God the Father. His love and mercy ought to reflect in the parenting of our children. Yes, for the most part, I am a just and loving parent. Even merciful. But a patient one? Not so much. 

It was humbling for God to remind me, through the figures of the Old Testament, of who I am. That is, a woman who fails God and makes mistakes over and over and over again; a child who is forgiven by God over and over and over again. So I need to be a patient parent like Him and forgive over and over and over again, especially the members of my family whom God has entrusted in my care. The Holy Spirit gently held up the mirror and showed me that, by losing my patience, I behave exactly how I don't want my kids to be, like that kid. You know, the spoiled and ungrateful one. 

Thank you Holy Spirit! That reality check helped me change my attitude and we had the memorable family vacation we were looking for. If anyone would like a glimpse into a 'spiritual mirror', read Understanding the Scriptures:  A Complete Course on Bible Study by Scott Hahn.
In His Service,
Cecyll LoBue
SGC President 2019-2020
SGCPresident.98@gmail.com