What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

We had one of those gut wrenching bedtimes tonight. C4 is suddenly terrified to sleep alone and wants the door open or someone to snuggle with. A2 gets out of bed to test the limits and won’t sleep if the door is open. They share a room. When one misbehaves, the other feeds off of the behavior. Disciplining one causes the other to fall apart. What is a mom to do?

On one hand my heart aches for my precious child. On the other hand I know that kids need to listen to their parents. When I am faced with this kind of situation, I cannot think clearly. Of course, my education and experience tell me one thing while my maternal instincts say yet another.

Education: “Give clear expectations. Explain the consequences clearly. Don’t back down!”

Instincts: “Snuggle and hug that child. Be encouraging and reassuring.”

Education: “Sleep will solve the problem.”

Instincts: “Sometimes you have to break the rules because your baby needs Mommy.”

Thankfully God steps in and helps us out. He leads the way if we let Him. We decided to pray. A2 started praying an incoherent prayer. (Thankfully God understands!) Then I got C4 started with asking God for help. “God, I feel sad and scared tonight. I keep having bad thoughts. I want to sleep because I am so tired, but I can’t fall asleep. Please help me to concentrate on good things. Amen.” What a beautiful prayer!

I must say that I wanted the answer to come sooner than it did. I was not able to keep it together and got angry. However, God helped us out. I had tried to settle everyone down on my own for about an hour and couldn’t do it anymore. My hubby had to take over. I have no idea what happened in that bedroom, but everyone went to sleep after Daddy left. Peace.

My lesson today is that I cannot parent my children alone. Daddy is my partner, and God is the boss! You win again, Lord! When will I learn this lesson?