Unnecessary Fussiness

This is a very undignified phrase the Bullock home has derived in order to describe fits or extreme fussiness displayed by Cross in a situation that by no means justifies such behavior. Similar to unnecessary roughness, a common term used in football to describe: well, just what it says I guess. That is actually a term that has always been confusing to me, but I guess that regardless of the fact that football is a contact sport, there are still times when too much force is unnecessary. Let me give you an example of unnecessary fussiness so that you will plainly see how there is no room for this type of behavior. Our most common example is the blood curdling squeal that happens when we try to burp Cross in the middle of his bottle. He makes a horrible face and often arches his back and goes into sheer, hand shaking panic. The whole while I am thinking to myself, “we do this every single day”. Actually, if you do the math, he has experienced this same routine over 800 times in his short little life. You would think he would rest assured that more milk was on the way. Hasn’t Mommy and Daddy proven faithful in this matter? Another example would be when we know he is exhausted but continues to fuss rather than to drift off into a reviving rest. This again is plainly unnecessary fussiness due to such a simple solution. Well, in order to have unnecessary fussiness, there must be room for necessary fussiness. Similar to football in the way that there are clearly times when knocking someone into next week is perfectly acceptable behavior. For example, as Cross’ senses have heightened, sometimes sudden, loud noises startle him and the cutest face ever seen by mankind appears and this is plainly a time of need. It starts with wide eyes, then the lip slowly protrudes and then the sweetest noise of panic begins and loudens with time and to top it off I am quiet certain he is saying “I need my Mommy” (or my Daddy but I like the previous just to be honest). Another example would be when Snick takes it upon herself to clean Cross’ tonsils when we aren’t looking. Now that plainly justifies a degree of helpless fussiness. As so often happens with raising a child, I couldn’t help but think about how God must have a similar parenting terminology. See, when Cross wants more milk, I am always thinking, “Mommy has it all under control. Of course I am going to meet your need.” On the flip side, when Cross has been struck by an unexpected fear, nothing thrills me more than to sweep him up and hold him tight, assuring him that everything will be okay. Ask yourself today, is your current complaint necessary or unnecessary fussiness. If you have had a loved one pass, I can guarantee God’s greatest desire is to love and comfort you. If you have a sick child or have been struck by a natural disaster, I feel I can safely say that God is hurting for you and desires to love you through your time of need. However, speaking from personal experience, I have certainly been guilty of millions of examples of unnecessary fussiness. For example, when we were moving here I went into sheer panic after hearing the price of private health insurance in North Carolina. Literally, within the hour I found out that we could actually keep our current policy which was nearly half the price. Now that was unnecessary fussiness. I know my Heavenly Father was probably rolling His eyes going, “I’ve got it all under control. Of course I am going to meet your need.” That is just one tiny example of an often bumpy roller coaster ride that I allow my emotions to take. As I was rolling this concept through my head, I felt like the Lord showed me the “scariest” part of this entire analogy which is the fact that of all the “unnecessary fussiness” situations that I can think of regarding Cross, they all are actually ones that I have caused. For example, that burping thing, well I could easily just let him suck down the whole bottle without the annoying interruption, but I am doing what is best for him in the long run. Same with the enforced naps and bed times, what he wants is to stay up and I could allow that, but for his own good (and honestly for the good of all involved) I “make” him go through a short period of fussiness in order to have a better day in the long run. What situations do you think God could actually be causing in your life? Ones that although could make you “fussy” for the moment, truly are what will bring about a better good in the long run (often too for everyone involved). So, I have a challenge for us all, let’s trust our Dad to be faithful to handle all of our problems big and small. Let’s trust that He is capable and more than willing to meet our every need (just not necessarily our every want). Finally, let’s rid our lives of unnecessary fussiness, because just to be honest, seeing it in Cross as well as in myself, it is SO unattractive! 

Trying to get real,
Kelly