taming momma bear.

It's no secret that I can go from sweet to ferocious in 2 seconds if I think for one moment that my children are being mistreated.  I'm just not one of those moms who can embrace my kids’ heartache as a means to toughen them up.  That's been a hard one for me. I am a communicator, a fixer, a nurturer, and a protector.  

I am momma bear.  

And, my youngest cub is sensitive.  

Sensitive. Sigh. What a loaded word. 

It's a strength and a weakness. A blessing and a curse. 

But that's just one side of him. And there are very few people who get to see the rest because there are very few people whom he feels comfortable around.  He is precious, hilarious, smart, compassionate, and he's painfully shy.  And he’s sensitive.  

Well, a few times over the last few weeks I've wanted to come to his rescue.  I wanted to find the fool who hurt his feelings and rip em' a new one.  But I just heard the Holy Spirit hush me; tell me to wait.  (I really don't rip people a new one per se, but I mediate through emails or little talks with teachers, etc.)  The main point I'm always pushing with him is forgiveness, and how proud he should feel over his sparkling manners.  He doesn’t treat people badly; he has manners and character.  So he wins.  And I win because he's mine.  

Lately, he has really been surprising me with his ability to stand up for himself.  Like when a little girl gave him “tips on how to be cool;” which basically entailed him developing an entirely new personality and set of friends.  He told her he didn’t need her tips and that everyone is different.  He wasn’t even hurt over it; he mostly seemed surprised by her audacity. 

I was proud of him. 

A situation came up recently where I was concerned about him getting his feelings hurt.  I felt I needed to do some pre-damage control, however I felt hesitation and decided just to wait.  I prayed about it, and I felt like I was supposed to trust God with his heart.  After all, He loves him even more than I do.  Well, like everything God does, it went better than I could have imagined.  I saw stars in his eyes; the kind that only come out when something real special happens.   If I had gotten involved, the whole thing might have been called off.  

So, I’m officially taming the momma bear.  I mean, tame doesn’t mean sedated or buried.  It just means disciplined and slow react. 

It’s time.