yes, i'm one of those mom's who allow their children to shoot at each other. no, they haven't become more violent in their play or talk because of it. we have rules. for example, if someone doesn't have a nerf gun, they are not fair game and if someone is smaller/shorter/slower than you, they are not prey! they need to be protected.
about a month ago, before the grass in a fenced play area had grown too deep, two cousins came for a sleepover. of course, the request was for the nerf stuff to be taken outside. very reluctantly, i agreed. i mean, would YOU want to search out about 50 nerf bullets in six inches of grass? after making sure the children understood that they, not me, would be finding each and every bullet, they counted out equal numbers of bullets.
out they went.
soon, in they came....
sans bullets.
not so good. the conversation went something like this: (me) did you find them all? (them) no. (me) out you go. (them) but..... (me--mercy is diminishing) go.
they went... then they came.... with a few bullets.
yes, i was exasperated.
after we found all but four, i had to preach a little. "...so, if you guys had known how hard it would be to find all the bullets, would you have asked if you could play nerf wars?"
i got a resounding "NO!"
to which i replied, "so, this makes me think of when the Bible talks about counting the cost of following Jesus. if you knew how hard it would be sometimes to make the right choices and obey Him, would you still have made that decision?"
i'm thankful to have received a decisive 'yes!' from those who had already made the commitment to follow Him. even though they're children, life isn't without its challenges.
i've thought a lot about it. finding nerf bullets was relatively easy compared to the fiery darts the enemy throws at us. i'm sure glad i have a Savior (who) is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, because he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). he's covered the cost.
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