You Can't Keep A Good Man Down

We had to get on to our 2-year-old, Lex, the other day, so we stuck him in Time Out. I tried to take advantage of him being in one place for a few minutes to scratch out a very quick sketch. What is it with these kids that won’t sit still? Well, as you can tell from his expression (hopefully), it didn’t really have the impact on him that we were going for. Somehow he got his hands on a book and enjoyed a nice, leisurely browse through the pretty pictures. He seems to be able to be content in just about any situation. And this is quite frustrating for his parents who are trying to discipline him as he appears to be impervious to our efforts to make him uncomfortable and sorry for his actions. Granted, maybe I should have taken away the book if I really wanted him to be miserable in Time Out, but it just wouldn’t have made any difference, really.


“Oh, you took away my book? That’s okay. Wow! Look how fascinating my HAND just became!”

Lex can entertain himself for hours with nothing at all. He plays with his toes, digs in his belly-button, watches his hands move in the light, or sings silly songs to himself (which he finds exceptionally hilarious). According to my mom, he gets all of this honestly. Apparently, I was similarly endowed with the ability to occupy my little brain as a child.

Although this is often a humorous frustration to me as a parent sometime, I think it is something from which we can all learn.

Didn’t Paul say in Philippians 4:11 “…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” And again, when writing his first letter to his pupil, Timothy, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Tim 6:6)

Just think about how frustrating it must be to those forces that try to defeat us and distract us from our purpose, those enemies who try to shut us down and make us miserable and forget our Faith, when, instead of losing our minds and weeping and wailing while thrashing on the floor, we find a way to be content. How irritating it must be when we are reduced to a situation of having absolutely nothing, yet we continue to console ourselves by clasping our hands together in prayer, take walks in the sunshine, hug our loved ones close, and laugh and sing and praise our generous Savior even when there are no indicators that we will ever be saved.

“Oh, you took away my house? That’s okay. Wow! Look how fascinating my family just became!”
“Oh, you took away my health? That’s okay. Wow! What great insight into the suffering of Christ!”
“Oh, you took away my loved one? That’s okay. Wow! Look what comfort, look what peace in the Holy Ghost! Why, it’s beyond understanding, isn’t it?”

You know what, Lex? That frustrating contentment thing that you do so well, you keep it up. I think it may prove to be a pretty powerful tool after all.