Things were pretty peaceful around here up until about 8:00pm. Brody had just gone down without incident (he pretty much does everything, at this point, without incident), and we’d tucked Lilli in shortly thereafter.

That’s when it all fell apart.

Girlfriend wasn’t happy about going to bed when the world was still turning right outside her door. A few minutes later, I saw the top of her curly mop go past the kitchen counter as she tried to tip toe across to the living room without being noticed. Then, I turned to grab some olive oil and she had stealthily crept in and sat quietly on the floor behind me. Each time we went back to bed with more kisses and more warnings, and yet, she snuck back out three more times, the last time, daring to sneak up on her mother.

Bad move.

Mama ain’t as pliable as Mimmie. That’s a real life lesson right there.

If she didn’t return to her bed that instant, and stay in it, she would have to turn in her beloved blanket for the night. Hardcore, yes, but usually effective.

Had the princess been wearing her glass slippers, however, her heels would’ve dug right into the concrete of her Mimmie’s floors. Blanket, or no, she was not going to bed. She’d made up her mind.

And then she told her mother NO.

She was swiftly removed to her room, where she was overheard saying NO several more times, between loud crying and the painful, mournful sound of an over-tired three year old coming completely undone.

The end result? She went to bed, of course. Spent. Drained. And without her blanket.

I thought, as I was washing dishes in the now quiet house, how like her I can be, sometimes. I’m not a belligerent person by nature, and I rarely confront anyone, but with God? The King of the Universe? A lot of the time I just want my own way. He tells me the consequences, and, instead of heeding the warning, I dig in my heels until, for my own good, I have to experience them.

Real life consequences often stink, but they do make us learn.

Maybe tonight, when I tuck that baby girl in with her pink and leopard blanket, we’ll both remember that.

“God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.” Hebrews 12:11 MSG