Radio Static and Thunderstorms

Sometimes when dealing hour to hour and day to day with a very independent and strong-willed three-year old little girl, I find myself forgetting that she is just that - a little girl. Rather, I often find myself thinking that I'm dealing with what I imagine it is like parenting a teenager. . .the attitudes, the demanding, the blatant acts of disobedience. But enter radio static and thunderstorms and I'm quickly reminded that my little Maia is still a little girl. Last night, Maia accidently hit the "tuner" button on her CD player with the volume turned up loud and the tuner not tuned into a station at all and you guessed it, Maia got blasted with radio static. This scared her so much that she tore out of her room with sheer terror on her face, trying to utter some words about whatever was happening in her room, but was so scared that she could only half mumble and half scream. I scooped her up in my arms where she just clung to me and sobbed for a good couple minutes (which is a long, long time for this little girl). Later that night, after Maia had been asleep, a big thunderstorm rolled through and with the first crash of loud thunder Maia was calling out for us. I went over to her room to find her hiding under her blankets and crying. So I crawled into bed with her and she snuggled up as close as she could, and there we slept until the storm passed. Although I'm not happy to see my daughter frightened, these moments, for some reason, do stir up compassion in my heart and desire to be patient with her in the midst of her sinfulness. I'm thankful that these occasions remind me that my Maia is just a little girl, and yes, she is a sinner just like me, in need of an abundance of patience and grace.