Ryle Section 2

Section 2: Train up your child with all tenderness, affection, and patience.

This section is particularly meaningful to me because I've found that I struggle a lot in this area. When I just had Isaac I used to think that it was easy to be patient (most of the time) but as I've been given more little ones and as they've started to grow a bit, I've realized that patience is really hard to come by sometimes. It's humbling because I feel like the more they grow, the more I need to ask forgiveness for my sins of being short or unkind when I'm frustrated. I've noticed when I am that way, the children turn off so quickly. Not that they don't need correction but it must be done with gentleness every time. So much in this section spoke to my heart and challenged me but I'll just post some highlights. I hope they encourage you. I need to write this stuff on my heart, especially since it comes straight from scripture, and just ask God for His strength to live it out.

"Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, patience, forbearance, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles (I struggle with this...I usually just want them to toughen up), a readiness to take part in childish joys-- these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily--these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his heart."

"Handle them kindly, and make much of them, and by and by you may guide them with thread; use them roughly and violently, and it will be many a month before you get the mastery of them all."

"Sternness and severity of manner chill them and throw them back. It shuts up their hearts, and you will weary yourself to find the door."

"We must not expect all things at once. We must remember what children are, and teach them as they are able to bear. Their minds are like a lump of metal--not to be forged and made useful at once, but only by a succession of little blows...'Line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little,' must be our rule...Truly there is need of patience in training a child, but without it nothing can be done."

"Love is one grand secret of successful training."