Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain or have other idols. Apparently, the ten commandments are clear and simple to my five-year-old. As my husband was going over them with her, she was relatively confident in her ability to uphold these commandments. Except for one.

Commandment #5: Honor thy father and mother. As soon as she heard that commandment, Lexi grabbed her devotional and began writing furiously. You can see the note she penned under Notes and Things to Pray About.

“I need to pray about wen I get mad and thay get mad to”

The reference “thay” implies that Lexi was referring to getting mad at both of us. However, when my husband asked her what she wrote, she said, “I wrote that I needed to not get mad when Mommy gets mad at me.”

I love that she was able to make the connection between honoring her parents by maintaining self control in the midst of anger or frustration. As a child and teenager, I found it difficult to honor my father and mother. Honor and respect weren’t only inherent in the ten commandments, but were foundational values in our family and culture. Like any other teenager, I rebelled against rules and restrictions, but rebellion was less acceptable in our household and tantamount to rejecting my parents altogether.

I grew up in a state of perpetual anger, but I thought it was a rite of passage. Lexi’s simple prayer reminded me that anger has no place in our family or any family. Anger too easily prevents us from listening to one another. My anger doesn’t manifest through yelling or calling people names. More times than not, it comes out through my body language and tone as disappointment. I can’t have my little girl thinking she’s a disappointment to me. Ever.

I and my husband were given this precious little girl, and our role is to love, cherish, and honor her. Even when she shows disrespect by talking back to us. Even when she shows signs of being demon possessed by pounding on the floors and walls in anger. Even when she asks us not to hang around her when other kids are still cool with having their parents around. Even if she one day says she doesn’t like me, or worse, hates me.

Lexi is right. Honoring your parents can be challenging. But so is honoring your children.

I do so love challenges…