We have this conversation often in our house:
One of the girls, in mostly-pretend tears – “Dad! Nathan hit me with (insert just about any object that can resemble a light saber).”
Nathan, running down the stairs behind her – “I didn’t hit her hard enough to hurt!”
Me, to Nathan – “But, you DID hit her?”
Nathan – “Yes, but not hard enough to hurt.”
Me – “But, you DID hit her?”
Nathan – “Yes, but not hard enough to hurt.”
[Repeat until Nathan just says, "Yes".]
Me – “Do you get to decide what hurts someone else?”
And then I get convicted myself. How many times have I argued with Amy about why what I said or did shouldn’t have hurt her? How many people have I brushed off or flat-out ignored because I thought they were acting more hurt than they really should have been? How does that square with the times I get angry and bitter at people who refuse to believe that what they did actually hurt ME?
Who in your life is saying, “You’re hurting me!”? What would change if you started believing them?
