I had exactly 30 minutes to get into Kohls, over to the Customer Service desk to have a security tag removed from a bathing suit and back out to the van to make it to an appointment across town. Sounds easy enough.

Except, I had Josiah with me.

I almost didn’t go. Josiah doesn’t like getting out of the van, not even to come back into the house.  Why did I think he would be agreeable to racing through a department store? I have no idea.  It just seemed, in that moment, like a good plan.

I pulled up to the closest spot near the entrance, opened Josiah’s door and attempted to put his shoes on him. He pulled his feet away.  I grabbed his backpack.  He threw it down.  I tried to unbuckle his seat belt. He refused to budge.

Not exactly the scenario I had envisioned.

There were a few options at this point:  let him win, stand my ground or try again a little later. Call me crazy, but I chose to stand my ground.  It simply had to be done or things could rapidly spiral out of control and Josiah would begin to think he could call all the shots.

Who am I kidding?  He already does.

But not this time.  This time I was calling the shots. The shoes went on, then off, then back on again.  I told Josiah we were absolutely, positively getting out of the van and going into the store.

There really was NO plan past that point, just sheer determination on my part, a few quick, silent prayers and a willingness to wait the boy out if I had to.  Getting him in the door would be a major victory.  Getting him through the store would be a whole nother ball game.

I put my fingers up close to his face.  I counted to 5, then said, “Let’s go!”

And he did.  To my utter amazement, after a 10 minute stand off that felt much longer, Josiah stepped out of the van, took my hand and walked into Kohls effortlessly.  He smiled even. Moments earlier he had been headstrong, insistent in staying buckled in the van.  Then, just like that he happily changed his mind.

I spotted a wheel chair just inside the entrance, pulled it over to Josiah and down he plopped.  It couldn’t have been easier.  Thank you, Jesus.

Some days are like that.  It starts with a stand off and ends with a smile.

On those days, there’s ice cream.