A Lesson You Learned From a Tantrum, Meltdown, or Conflict

I once spent 45 minutes in a hallway with a screaming child who refused to go to bed.

I tried every tool — soft voice, stern tone, logical explanation. Nothing worked.

I was exhausted and embarrassed — and honestly, angry.

But something inside me said, “Don’t walk away. Just sit.”

So I sat. I didn’t speak. I didn’t lecture.

I just sat on the hallway floor, within reach but without force.

Ten minutes passed… then twenty.

Eventually, the screaming softened to sobs.

And then he crawled over and laid his head on my leg.

I learned that night that regulation often begins with us, not them.

That our calm becomes their safety.

And sometimes, the holiest thing you can do as a father is sit still and wait.

Isn’t that what God does with us?