liar, liar

On Thursday morning when I went to wake the boys up, I walked in to find Truett and Jem sitting in Jem’s bed. I wasn’t sure how Tru had managed to get out of the crib tent. The very first time we put him in he figured out how to unzip it in less than 30 seconds. After that, we started looping the zipper around the tent pole making it impossible for him to open. And yet, here he was sitting in Jem’s bed.

I naturally assumed that Jem had let him out but when I asked Jem he denied it. So I asked Truett if Jem had unzipped the tent for him and he told me that he had just gotten out on his own. I didn’t see how this was possible so I put Tru back in the crib, zipped it back up and asked him to show me how he got out. He stood there for a few seconds and then said, “Jebby got me out.”

I finished getting them dressed and then sent Tru downstairs while I sat down with Jem to have the following conversation.

Me: Do you know why I want to talk to you?
Jem: Because I let Truett out.
Me: That’s true but there was something else you did that was much worse. Do you know what that was?
Jem: I lied.
Me: That’s right buddy. How do you think God feels when you lie?
Jem: He forgives me.

I probably should have quit right then and there. I mean he was using advanced theology on me. But I pressed on.

Me: That’s true. He does forgive you. But do you think He likes it when you lie?
Jem: No
Me: Can you tell me why you lied about it?

At this point I was looking for him to say something about not wanting to get into trouble. Isn’t that why we usually lie? It's either to prevent someone from being hurt or to keep ourselves out of trouble. Often, it is a combination of both. But instead, he looked at me and said, “Because I like to.” I quickly called our pastor and asked him to pray for my child’s soul. Totally kidding on that one, but the response did throw me a little bit. I’m used to defiance and disobedience, bad attitudes and sibling squabbles. But getting to this age where it is time to start dealing with matters of the heart is scary. I wish I could say that I had a super great response but I might have mumbled something like, “Well, that’s kind of weird.” And then I fumbled through an explanation about having a good heart and being kind and honest.  All in all, not my finest moment of parenting but I'm entering into a new phase that I haven't dealt with before. This is one of those times when I do my best and leave the rest of it up to God.