So today Jeffrey was kinda struggling in the "obeying mommy" area of things. I decided to play a little game where he followed directions and then got to choose what he ate for dinner. We had played this game before and it was a success so I decided to try it again and see what the outcome would be.
I started off with a small request of removing his toys from the couch and putting them away. Well, Mr. I Get to Choose My Own Meal puffed out his chest and promptly took his toys and put them exactly where they needed to be. When I saw that this little game was working tonight I moved onto the next chore. Bless his little heart, he did everything perfectly the first time I asked and without any hesitation. My mommy heart was beaming. He finished everything just as I had asked and asked me to go make his meal.
I took him to the kitchen and I said, "OK Jeffrey, let's see what our choices are." I pulled out a corn dog, some chicken nuggets and some bread for a sandwich. I asked him which one he would like to have. He chose the chicken nuggets. (ok, I thought to myself, we are off to a good start). Next I pulled out a stick of string cheese, a yogurt, and a slice of swiss cheese. I asked him which one he wanted and he said, "no mamma". Well, that's ok, so he didn't want dairy to eat, I can still give him milk. I continued on through our fruit/ veggie group and bread group but he still said, "no mamma". I finally asked him, "Jeffrey you have turned down everything but the chicken nuggets. What do you want to eat?" In the cutest little squeaky voice he said, " duce (juice) and chok ilk (chocolate milk). Now the juice we have is lime juice and I thought to myself, how do limeade and chocolate milk go together? Ewwww. I didn't question and after making the deal that he got to make his own meal I really couldn't say no so I promptly poured a glass of limeade and then another glass of chocolate milk. I sat these choices down at the table and said, "is there anything else you would like to have?" At that point my child asked for salt and vinegar potato chips. This meal is just getting grosser and grosser in my mind but a deal is a deal. I pulled the chips from the cabinet and placed a small amount on his plate next to the nuggets. Now his meal was complete.
Once his fork and napkin were ready my precious little child sat down in his chair, looked to make sure Luigi was sitting outside on his chair (thank you God for sending Luigi for dinner tonight. If you don't know who Luigi is read my blog about saying a prayer for a lizard) and said, "mamma pay (pray)" So I proceeded to pray and thank God for the beautiful day and all the fun we had and then I asked for the food to be tasty and good for our bodies. At that point my little man looked up and said, "mamma, dank du pour pua, it yummy!" (pua is food in his language). All I could do was give him a hug and say "I love you".
At that point I learned a very valuable lesson. It isn't so much the combination of food on your plate, it is the idea that each food satisfies a craving. Obviously Jeffrey was hungry for foods that had specific flavors and a little sodium thrown in. He knew what his body wanted and he knew what would taste yummy to him tonight. In our lives we all have needs and "cravings" that need to be satisfied. Sometimes other people can fill those needs by showing they care but there is always one thing that will satisfy every craving you will ever have. God is the sodium, the bland, the sweet, the creamy, the bitter, and every other flavor our lives need to be satisfied. If we just ask, the way Jeffrey asked me for food tonight, God will supply what fills our cravings. As Jeffrey had faith in my responding to his requests we also have to have faith that God is listening to us and will respond when we have needs in our lives. What a blessing it is to know that no matter how strange my craving may be, God won't think it is strange at all and He will embrace me as a parent embraces their child.
Just my thought for the night. Hope everyone has a super Friday and weekend!
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