Today, our daughter Hope celebrated mouth freedom. After 31 months of metal, her teeth are brace-free.
What I realized is that these teeth reflect the importance of discipline. Hope endured pain. There were extractions, powerchains, minor oral surgery, hundreds of small rubber bands, and pain after many appointments. Hope is a singer and an actor, and she has been on stage many times during the last three years and has always been willing to open her mouth and sing, regardless of the metal. She was willing to endure this radical reshaping of her mouth for the sake of straight teeth. And for Hope, the issue was not merely cosmetic; her teeth were way out of alignment.
I thought of that pain for good tonight, and realized that discipline and discipleship often work the same way. We have to establish boundaries for our children, causing them pain at some points, but always (for most of us), with the goal of their future good. We say no to the things that can harm them, we apply pressure that will straighten them out.
Last week I met with a young mother. I was trying to help her understand that there are times when God may not answer our request for help because we may be disobeying what He has asked. I said, “If you asked your four-year-old to do something several times and he still wasn’t doing it, if he then asked you for a piece of candy, would you give him the candy?” Her response? “Yes, I can’t imagine telling him no.”
If she never says no, how will that child ever learn what straight is? How will he ever find boundaries? How will he ever know that she loves him enough to help him learn limits?
Hope has done a wonderful job. She seldom complained. She knew that with some suffering came great gain.
I’ve got to remember that, too.
