Lessons from the Coffee Shop Potty

Something happened tonight, after church, on our 7 1/2 minute drive back to our house (yes, we pretty much live close to everything important - church, the mall, Doc's office, Target, several Mexican restaurants, the grocery store, 3 coffee shops, and even our small airport - all in a 10-mile radius.) We dragged the kids away from friends, Maggie telling me she didn't get to play with anyone as I buckled her into her booster seat. I reminded that she did, in fact get to play with a ton of friends.

When all 3 kiddos were secured, and Jeff climbed over the console from the passenger side into the driver seat (our driver-side door has been broken for almost 2 years) and I was buckling my own seat belt, my sweet husband asked me what any exhausted man would ask his exhausted wife on a Wednesday night after church - do you want to stop for some coffee on the way home?

He knows it's music to my ears. A special rendezvous through the java drive through...

As we were pulling into the parking lot of the coffee shop, Maggie announced from the back seat that she had to 'tee tee'. (That's the lingo around our house.) I sighed and asked if she could wait until we got home. "Well, I have to tee tee really bad," came the small voice from behind my seat.

Very well, then.

Jeff parked the car and we quickly devised a plan. I would take her inside while he and the other two tackled the drive-thru and they would pull around and pick us up.

Once in the freezing cold establishment (why is it always freezing? It's not a Baskin-Robins for crying out loud) the strong aroma of freshly ground coffee beans hit me as I turned the corner with Maggie to take her to the restroom. Upon setting her on the 'potty' I waited.

Nothing happened for a few seconds. And then she said, "Um, I think I was just joking."

I refrained from saying, "girl, I know you di'in."

A conversation ensued in which I asked Maggie several questions and finally she admitted that she lied to me in the car. She was visibly upset. I told her she would have to pay the consequences for lying (spank from Daddy) and talked to her about what the Bible says about lying.

Once outside, we were holding hands, standing on the sidewalk, waiting for Jeff to drive around and pick us up. I told her she would have to tell Daddy that she lied- that we always want her to tell us when she has lied to us. I talked to her about trust, and how when she lies to us, it breaks our trust.

Minutes later, after I buckled her back into her seat and we were on the road again, she said, "Daddy, I'm sorry. I lied to Mommy." I explained what happened, and Jeff again explained to her that she would have a consequence to pay, and that lying is sin.

It sounded so black and white when he said it. Lying is a sin. I was struck by how we as adults often rationalize the lies that we sometimes tell...

Lilly piped up from the back seat, "Daddy, does Maggie have a sinful heart?"

Jeff: "Well, we all have sinful hearts."

Maggie: "Why do we all have sinful hearts?"

Me: "That's a good question, Maggie... it's because of what happened with Adam & Eve in the garden... do you remember what God told them?"

Maggie: "Do not eat that fruit."

Jeff: "That's right..."

By the time we were pulling into the driveway, we were talking with them once again about sin, and how the Bible says sin was birthed into the world through Adam and Eve,... and the need for our Savior Jesus... and how Jesus came and died to cover our sin.... and that's why we celebrate Easter!

With all the bunnies and eggs and chocolates we've been surrounded by this season, I've had ample opportunity to tell the girls, "Easter isn't about a bunny, it's about when Jesus died for us and rose from the grave..."

But sometimes, it takes a "little white lie" in the coffee shop parking lot to really bring it home.