Thank you Lord, for my strong-willed child.

Sometimes he challenges me beyond belief. Sometimes I think the Lord may have not blessed us with more kids because sometimes this one takes all the patience and energy I have.

Sometimes I feel like getting him into clothes in the morning is a courtroom battle. Or pretty much getting him to do anything. … Sometimes going to work is the “easy” part of my day.

Sometimes I’m required to use my knowledge of feline behavior, as in, “get them to think it was their idea” as a parenting tool.

Sometimes I try to leave 45 minutes early and end up 15 minutes late because of some debate that, at the end of it, neither one of us could tell you what it was really about.

Thank you Lord, for the challenges he brings; it makes the rewards of his temperament all the sweeter.

As I heard one blogger say, “remember, if you can’t get your kid to do anything, neither will anyone else.” Strong-willed children are “less likely to give into peer pressure,” be led anywhere or with anyone and “are more likely to be confident.”

This weekend at the end of what was a week in what can sometimes be called “the parenting wars,” I watched my son sit down with a man who was in his fifties, in a home for the elderly infirm, and engage with him — talk baseball with him over a meal.

He excitedly came over to me and was so happy to share with me “my new friend, he’s a little boy who has my same name and likes baseball.” Looking around the elderly population we were serving, I was confused. I was running around being a busy Martha and here my 4-year-old was showing me Mary.

My son who is often very shy was bonding with a brother in Jesus more naturally than most of us adults could pull off. I didn’t ask him or tell him to sit down and converse with a stranger. He did it because that’s who he is, my strong-willed child.

That man probably hadn’t spoken about baseball with a 4-year-old in a very long time, if ever. He was surrounded by a bunch of people who weren’t even familiar with baseball, and my son just buddied up to him and gave him such joy.

Thank you Lord, for my strong-willed child. Sometimes I need a reminder that micromanaging and correcting is often not the way with him — modeling, guiding, and letting the Lord take over is just easier for everyone — and a huge blessing.

Thank you for the BLESSING of my strong-willed child.

This article was originally published at CatholicMom.com and is shared here with permission.