"I don't know how"

So many things my son says to me reflect my own relationship with God the Father... and I just had to sit down and type this one out so I don't forget it.... ever....

He woke up with this punk attitude.  Probably because he didn't get enough sleep last night.  So I was correcting him for the 100th time this morning and I said, "you aren't showing me the Fruits of the Spirit, are you?'   He held his little hands up in a shrug and said, "but I don't know how."

Duh, I said to myself.  I can barely display the Fruits of the Spirit myself... how can I expect him to?  

Above and beyond all the other theological discusses I could insert here, this is the one I am going for today: why do I expect my child to be born with this perfect behavior?  Like since he's born into a Christian home, he will automatically act like he should?  

So here's the morale of this revelation for today, boys and girls: Christ is gentle and loving towards me in all the mistakes that I've made in my life... He has been faithful to bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit in my own life so that my quality of life has improved... and only just recently at that.  (Why have I ever been fooled into thinking that when I accepted Christ, I automatically knew how to be a Christian?) 

And I'm not trying to say that it's okay to act however we want to act.  Paul warned us against this mentality in Romans 6- "what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" 

My point is this:  my son(s) don't know how to be a Christian... it's my responsibility to teach them.  

say it again...

Even as I try to type this out, my almost-5-year-old son is at my elbow talking to me.  He talks non-stop and my almost-4-month-old is already a chatterbox... which is great in some ways... but when I am trying to concentrate on something or have an adult conversation, it gets in the way.  so...many...questions... I get sensory overload at it all sometimes, to be honest.

The flipside of this coin is that I have to say the same thing 50 times and sometimes sign for him to get what I am saying to him...  and this is where most ladies would insert some kind of joke about men not listening... ha, ha, ha... but I'm not... because the truth of the matter is that this just convicts me of something in my own relationship with my Heavenly Father... like how I like to tell Him all kinds of stuff and not listen to what He is trying to tell me....

I know that He is constantly trying to calm my fears and soothe my anger and just encourage me, but I'm too busy complaining about it.

Lord, help me to hear Your voice in this noisy world.