Oh, Atticus...

For those who pray for us, our kids: Please pray for Atticus. Brad said he thinks it is quite possible that he spanked Atticus more times this one weekend than he has the rest of Atticus life. To complicate matters, most of these acts of disobedience came with a blank look or a smile -- and the same expressions came with the consequential discipline and "debriefing" following the discipline. There seems to be no remorse. It is all very unusual for Atticus who is usually very quick to repent and to empathize with hurting his parent or brother or friend. And though it has been a frustration that the repentance is often short-lived, it has still appeared very real. The last half week has been so weird. Brad and I need prayer for wisdom and patience and hope; Atticus needs God to come in and mend/quicken his thinking/spirit. I love him so much -- I don't want to break his spirit with discipline -- Ultimately I want Christ to capture his whole being and make him the person he is meant to be. Short-term, I just want him to be kind, thoughtful, and safe. (And I want him to trust -- at whatever level of understanding he is at -- that his mom and dad love him and try very hard to give him reasonable rules and boundaries for his own good, for the "greater good".)