Bedtime

My daughter doesn't ever want to miss anything. At 3 years old she has a lot to see and experience and refuses to be separated from the action. As parents we are trying to get her to go to bed without one of us laying right next to her. I recognize this is a small price to pay to get her to fall asleep peacefully, but we are acknowledging something bigger; that we need to teach her that the lives of others don't revolve around her and she cannot always have what she wants.
We tried to reason with her; "mommy and daddy need 'mommy and daddy' time", but at her age and development level she is incapable of putting the needs of others ahead of her own.
After the first hour of the crying and jack-in-the-box (getting out of her bed over and over) we couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. This kid is more than tenacious!
After the second hour we were exhausted, scratching our heads and out of ideas. My husband called out to her, as she peeked around the corner out of bed again, and said in a very exasperated tone; "Just go to bed!" To which she replied; "I don't want to!"
Then it struck me! The parallel is so interesting. God must watch us and shake his head too.
God guides us to make right choices, and we refuse. Then God guides us again and we refuse again. We know what we need to be doing but instead of doing it we cry and throw a fit. Then our wrong actions and poor choices bring consequences that hurt. God must shake his head and say; "just do it!" To which the most defiant of us will respond; "I don't want to." Our continued defiance will lead to more pain and more suffering.
My daughter could've submitted to authority, gone to bed, fallen asleep and had sweet dreams for the required number of hours that her growing little body needs. But instead she cried and threw a fit and remained defiant for over 2 hours. (btw after about 10 minutes of silence, i looked in on her and she was sleeping like a baby; I cannot be certain if she finally decided to comply or if she just collapsed in fatigue, my bet is on the latter).
Unlike God, I am not sure what tomorrows' bedtime will bring. I am not even sure we are doing what is right. I just pray that I will be able to submit to God's authority and follow where He guides.