That is how my Mom describes Elijah. It is really just a nice way to say that he is LOUD. (I suppose that is a trait inherited from his mother, "Megaphone."*) Elijah is loud all the time - happy, sad, angry, excited - everything is loud.
These last two weeks Elijah has started throwing fits. Eric says, "His level of disobedience has really jumped to a new level." Well, as you can imagine, the fits are LOUD. Fits are confusing to me. They don't actually help anything; Elijah usually ends up throwing himself on the floor, which cannot be comfortable. Besides the fact that we must figure out how to address this new form of disobedience...besides the fact that fit-throwing is a blatant sign of sin in my dear child...besides the fact that I have no idea what to do at home, much less in public...besides all this, the fits are LOUD. And that is trying.
It was most refreshing then to read Proverbs 29:17 this morning. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. Praise God for timely encouragement to persevere in consistent discipline. For how we want Elijah to be content, thankful, and self-controlled!
Other encouragement comes from recalling the six week stretch when Elijah screamed all the time. That was pre-crawling. The issue then was contentment as well. God gave help, and that behavior stopped. Then there was the month long stretch when Elijah was disciplined several times, at every meal, for throwing his food off his high chair. God gave help, and today there were only two grapes on the floor after lunch, both dropped accidentally.
God is good. And Elijah already does delight my heart, despite - or perhaps because of - his "very expressive" personality.
*Oh look, Eric, my parents did have a nickname for me!
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