Exasperated

With five kids in the family, life can get hectic at times, but between my wife and I, we do a pretty good job of managing things. As a matter of fact, our household, with all its quirks,  runs more smoothly than many smaller households, primarily out of necessity. Even though our family works very well together, there are still days when Mom and Dad are just plain worn out. 

We were experiencing one of those worn out days last week. As we sat down to a lively dinner after a hectic flurry of activity that had dominated the day I playfully announced to the family that the parents were tired and that we were invoking the Proverbs 32 rule. If you are wondering what the Proverbs 32 rule is, well it can be found in Proverbs 32 and it says, "Parents, ignore your children in the Lord for this is right." 

"You can't ignore us!" four-year-old Justin said with a big grin. 

"Oh yes I can. I'm the dad," I replied. 

"I think it sounds like a great plan," Mom said. "I'm tired and want to pretend there are no kids tonight." 

"It doesn't say to ignore us," six-yer-old Cami said with a suspicious grin. 

"Sure it does," I replied. "Look it up." With that, our oldest son, Zach, jumped up and made a run for his Bible. 

"Hey!" he shouted from his bedroom. "Proverbs doesn't have a chapter 32. There's only 31 chapters!" Then he came out to the living room and turned the pages for a minute until he found what he was looking for. "Here it is," he said. "Ephesians 6:4. Fathers, do not exasperate your children."

Uh-oh, time to think fast. With no quick response forming in my head, I resorted to childhood rule #37. That's the rule that every kid learns on the playground while playing dodge ball: When something is coming at you hard and fast, get out of the way. 

"Are you sure there's no Proverbs 32?" I asked dodging the exasperation comment. "Maybe it's in First Hesitations."

"Daddy!" Cami moaned. "There's no First Hesitations, I learned that in Awana."

"Well, there should be," I said. "And it should say something about parents ignoring their children every once in a while."

"You can't ignore us," Justin reminded me with the grin returning to his face. 

"Somehow, I think you're right," I said. "Although sometimes it sounds like a good idea. How, 'bout Plan B?" 

"What's Plan B?" the kids asked. 

"Tomorrow night, you go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner while Mommy and Daddy go out to dinner with no kids!" And with that, the whole family was happy. 

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Ephesians 6:1 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. 

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.