Fix it

While generally very easy-going, our son has a streak of high anxiety that sometimes appears without warning. It first manifested itself when he started trying to eat and drink by himself; if he spilled anything on the table, he would scream "WIPE it!!" and refuse to take another bite until the offending spill was cleaned up.

Lately what has been stressing him out is anything that appears to be broken... or simply not in the condition that he wishes it to be in. For example, yesterday he asked for a banana for a snack. He likes to hold onto the "handle" of the banana while he eats it, so I peel it upside down and he gets to eat his fruit like a real monkey. Unfortunately, my bananas have gotten overripe, so when I went to break it from the bunch, the stem broke right off! I peeled it and handed it to him, saying that I was sorry but the handle broke.

"FIX it!" he whined. I replied, "I'm sorry Max, there are some things Mommy can't fix."

When he accidentally snaps a stick in half... "FIX it!" When he mixes his play-doh colors and can't separate them again... "FIX it!" When a toy is worn out and won't play music anymore... "FIX it!"

Usually his fits don't last long, but I don't know how to help him understand that Mommy can't fix everything that's broken, and sometimes that's ok. Some things can't be fixed, shouldn't be fixed, or are not actually broken at all.

I feel like that's often how I approach God in prayer; when something isn't going my way, I whine "FIX it!" instead of recognizing that some of the things I think need God to fix for me aren't actually broken in the first place. I just need to change my perspective and my attitude.

There's nothing like parenting a toddler to remind me how a daughter of God should be speaking to her Father.