Wisdom

I have this little guy. He is precious beyond belief and is very, very smart. Savant smart. And patient. Saintly patient. So when he goes about doing things he is very steady and persistent. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Regular discouragements don't work on him. He's just too happy to care. Seriously.

Ok, let me back up. So he's two. And adorable. He likes to chew on things and he likes to play his guitar and his drum. He also loves to sing and watch his Wiggles. What is his passion you ask? Let me tell you! Stripping. Yes. You read that right. The child loves to be in the buff. And the more 'discouragement' you place in front of that thrill, the better the sense of accomplishment when it's achieved. Did I mention he was a happy child? 

I've tried placing him in the corner. He declared it was his and fought with any other child that would dare come near it. Oh.. and he'd lick the wall. Repeatedly. Um...ew?! I'd have him sit in time out near the table, but he'd play and flirt with anyone around and if you ignore him, he'd sit quiet and contrite and when released, he'd leave with an ear to ear grin and move along as if nothing happened. Then he'd go ahead and do it again.  *sigh* 

Naptime and bedtime have become his offending time frames. He will happily work at undressing with all the time in the world while I am in the other room falsely relaxing in the quiet I hear. 

Let's see. What have I tried? I have placed duct tape on the tabs of the diaper. He learned that the sides are weak and you can rip them. I purchased jeans for him that have adjustable tabs and I make them as tight as possible. This worked for about a month until he figured out how to undo snaps. I have placed duct tape around his entire waist to avoid weak points in the diaper. Know what he did? He spent a ridiculous amount of time patiently peeling layer after layer off the diaper using the leg opening as the starting point. When I went to get him, he was wearing only a sliver duct tape belt and nothing else. 

I moved on to overalls. He can't undo the tags at the shoulders, but he can undo the snaps at the sides and pull the diaper out. One afternoon I went to get him from a nap and found him dressed, but his diaper on the floor. As I stared at him in awe and asked him how in the world he did that, he answered in the latest blurb my older children had taught him. "Ta da!!!". 

Normally I laugh. I did on the "ta da!" day. I have a good, healthy sense of humor. You have to in order to live here and clean up his poop he flings all over his room every day. In fact, this particular cherub keeps me laughing on most days. But I was feeling defeated yesterday (and tired of cleaning) and in need of reinforcement and encouragement. It's just plain humbling when your two year old outsmarts you. 

So I asked some friends if they had any new ideas I could try. Along with some suggestions (yeah!) I was also given some great encouragement. James 1:5 says "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." Then she reminded me that my precious, precocious gift was made just the way the Lord intended him to be and since I was chosen to raise him, all I had to do was ask His Creator what should be done.  Not only isn't it a wonderful benefit to be able to ask a Perfect Father what to do, but also that you can ask without any fear of rebuke. I really love the "gives generously to all without finding fault" part of that scripture. 


As long as I stay in touch with the One with the answers, I can stay a step ahead of my little Whirlwind. That's reassuring news.