A Lesson on Parenting, Children, and Radical Love.

 

As a child I loved being read to by my parents. I have a distinct memory of one fall where my mother read The Hobbit aloud. My brother, sister and father all reclined around the fireplace. We stared into the fire as she read about dragons, magic rings, elves, and adventure.

 

I bet you can remember being read to or reading to your own children or grandchildren.

 

One of my favorite books to read to my own kids is Maurice Sendak’s, Where the Wild Things Are.

 

You likely know the story. Max is a young boy and dresses as a wolf. He causes mischief throughout the house; he chases the dog with a fork and builds a fort in the house by nailing a blanket to the wall.

 

His mother is exasperated. She calls him a “WILD THING” as he hasn’t listened to her all night. Max, in his anger responds, “I”LL EAT YOU UP!”

 

Max’s mother sends him straight to bed without any supper. Max’s mother is unnamed in the entire book.

 

She could be any of us.

 

She is at her wits end.

 

Parenting is like that. We want our children to listen to us. We want our children to behave appropriately. We want what is best for our kids.

 

But Max just wants to do what Max wants to do! In desperation, Max’s mother yells at him and Max turns into the very thing she describes him as being – A WILD THING!

 

Where The Wild Things Are wasn’t popular when it first came out.

 

Librarians and parents hated the book. It has been banned several times. But do you know who loved the book?

 

Children.

 

They ate it up. They checked it out over and over from the library. They renewed it as many times as possible. When it was allowed in libraries it was flying off the shelves.

 

Why?

 

Let’s get back to the story. As you know, once Max is banished to his room, the walls begin to transform into a jungle. He is transported to a land filled with beasts just like him. He becomes king of the wild things!

 

Did you notice what happens on the pages? The artwork grows and expands on nearly every page. Eventually, the words on the pages disappears. It is just Max going wild! The images expand with Max’s rage and wild character.

 

He loses control.

Can you relate? Can your children relate?

 

Eventually, Max misses home. And he returns to his bedroom to find that his supper is hot and waiting for him.

 

Parents, teachers, and librarians hated the message of this book. Max throws a fit, a temper tantrum, goes absolutely bonkers, without ever listening to his mother or apologizing and yet he is rewarded at the end with the very supper his mother said she wouldn’t give him!

 

What kind of a message does this send to all the children reading this book? That they can behave like monsters and their parents will still love them?

 

Exactly.

 

Where The Wild Things Are is a story about love.

 

It is a story about a mother’s love for her son. She longs to reconnect with her son. She offers up an apology in the form of a hot meal.

 

It is a story of a son who wants to return home. As much freedom as he experiences in the jungle, he longs to reconnect to that which is familiar, that which is safe, that which is known. He calms down and is met with the compassion of a loving mother.

 

This story gets reenacted in households across the globe every single day.

 

I love that Max’s wild nature is met with grace. It sends a profound message to our children. They are lovable. They are valuable. They are WILD! They belong.

 

This story is found riddled within the pages of our Scriptures. Stories of wayward children being met by a loving God. Stories of children being inviting back into the family. Images of God as a mother hen wrapping her wings around her chicks. Images of unconditional love offered to WILD THINGS! Over and over and over…

 

We’ve all been Max.

 

Supper is ready.