PETER

   Wow! I wonder if some people think about how hard it will be and what they're going to do once they become parents.
   "Peter, stop!" How many times have I heard this in the coffee shop this morning? I have watched Peter cry, scream, spit on the floor, hit his mom, and run out the front door and down the sidewalk.
   Now I know what any mom is going to say to me. "Wait 'til you have kids!" I know. I can't wait! But while I am I have begun to ponder what I will do. Parenting does not begin when the baby pops out of a pushy mama. Anyone who frowns at a smoking pregnant mama or gawks at a preggo cocktail knows that parenting happens well before the due date.
   I would argue, however, that parenting begins even before the pee test. The responsibility of a child is one of life's greatest endeavors and I dare say many Americans take on this conquest without much more thought than what color the nursery will be or what sports records he/she might break in high school.
If you decide to start parenting at birth you will have already missed several months, if not years, of parenting opportunities.
   I am thankful for this chance to slow down and take time to "perfect my parenting skills" before the dry run is over and the real deal is upon us. I am working on making regular exercise a consistent habit in my life. I have begun cooking healthy meals at home which rival any local eateries' menu selections. I am reading more and spending more time getting to know my Father. I'm nurturing the most important relationship in my household: my marriage. Let the parenting fun begin! I'm sure, looking back, these will be some of the best times of my life as a parent.

...better than I know myself

"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt (where they had been enslaved for 430 years!)." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle." Exodus 13:17-18

   I find the last sentence of this passage amusing. The Israelites are pumped on their recent "victory" against the Egyptians and they're ready to keep it going. They're armed and ready 'cause no one messes with God's peeps!' Did you see what happened to the firstborns in Egypt?  Fa' get about it!
  
   The Israelites leave Egypt thinking they're really something. And on one hand they are; they're God's chosen people. But the reality is that their God knows them better then they know themselves. He knows this 'battle' they're armed for would send them running back into the arms of their oppressor if they were to encounter it 'on the road through the Philistine country' (v. 17). God doesn't tell them this (who could handle hearing that ugly truth?) but instead gently leads them in a different direction.
  
   I'm so glad my God knows me like this. Despite my tough attitude and controlling nature he leads me on roads that will draw me closer to him and not send me back to a place of oppression and enslavement. Glad to be loved like this!