"I Don't Like You"

My three-year-old is going through a phase. At least, I assume it's a phase. I've heard some other moms talk about their children just older than mine coming out of it, so I continue to believe we will, too. You see, my daughter has always loved her Daddy. This is just as it should be. But when she was two, she started telling him she didn't want him to do things. She wanted Mommy. She stomps her feet, points, screams, and cries, and inevitably ends up screaming, "No! I don't like you!" Needless to say, my husband finds this heartbreaking. Especially since earlier in the evening, they were tickling and giggling together and reading stories and having a great time. For some reason, this mostly happens when she's being put to bed, but sometimes more often. I have tried multiple ways of reminding her how much her Daddy loves her, how upset he and God are when she says mean things like that, how she hurt her Daddy, etc., but it's hard to reason with a three-year-old. Any tips and advice are welcome, as well as prayers!
The longer I am a mother, the more I understand what God must feel sometimes when he loves me. After all, I'm a bit older than three, but I still throw my own temper tantrums, stomping my feet, screaming and crying, saying things I really don't mean. And while I probably don't say the exact words "I don't like you" to God, I might as well sometimes. Because that's the way I treat Him. What? You don't believe me? Think about it. Every time we do something He has asked us not to do, aren't we just thumbing our noses at Him, telling Him that He and what He says doesn't matter as much as what we want? Every time we whine and complain because something in life hasn't gone how we wanted it to, aren't we basically saying that He doesn't know how to take care of us as well as we do? When we would rather spend time doing something else instead of spending time with Him, aren't we saying He's not that important and that we like this other thing better? Yeah. I'm stepping on my toes here, too. I guess maybe having a child who throws tantrums every time she doesn't get her way is one of the gentle reminders from my loving Father that even though it doesn't always seem "fair" and I may not always get things my own way, He knows best and loves me even when I'm being ugly. Because no matter how many times our daughter tells my husband that she doesn't like him, he will always love her. Always.
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