Bad Seeds

"What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar."  Proverbs 18:22

My 6YO has had a rough week on the playground. There is a girl – yes, a girl – who is making his life miserable.



First she would chase him, and then tell him if she caught him, they would keep him in the Girl Club.


Then he told on her.


Then she said he couldn’t play with her sister.


Then she gathered her group of girls and would approach him just to say things like “Stay away from me!”


Unlike his older brother, my 6YO is very socially aware. All of these episodes bothered him. REALLY bothered him!


So a few nights ago, it was time for Mother Bear to step in.


I emailed the teacher. I emailed my friend who is a playground supervisor. I named names. I implicated the seemingly innocent. I called witnesses to the stand.


I read my son what I had written and I got, “Oh Mommy! I love you! Thank you for writing that for me!”


He was very relieved.


Then he was apprehensive.


At bedtime he wanted to know what would happen if the playground teachers just told him not to be a tattle tale… AGAIN.


I told him to go inside and find his teacher and tell her what was going on.


He said he’d get in trouble if he went into the building without telling the playground teachers.


So I said, “Just tell them you need to go to the bathroom, and then go inside and find your teacher.”


“You mean lie???” he said.


Okay, so maybe I wasn’t meant to have children. Maybe I can’t be a good example. Maybe all of my evil motives are terribly transparent if even a 6YO can point them out!


“Yes, you can lie, and you won’t get in trouble with me because it will be for a good reason,” I said.


It was the best I could come up with.


“Well, that’s okay because I kind of lie to them anyway,” he said.


“You do?”


“Yes, I get tired and need a drink and they won’t let you go in for a drink, so I tell them I need to go to the bathroom and I go in there and rest and then I get a drink before I go back outside.”


Hmm.


Looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The road to Hell really is paved with good intentions.


Thanks to Jesus for saving us from our sins, regardless of good or bad intentions; and for securing a place under the Tree of Life for even bad seeds like me.