Stepping On My Own Toes

Aunt-Mom Monday/Bible Truth Tuesday

The view from my porch one night. My littles playing in the yard as the sun was setting. I think this may have been a small glimpse of what heaven may be like. 😊

Yesterday, I was dealing with some nerve pain in my left hand and arm, so I took the day off from writing and let it rest most of the day. So, today I am going to be combining Aunt-Mom Monday and Bible Truth Tuesday. It's incredible how God just orchestrates things to work out so perfectly. He spoke to me last night on a topic that fits perfectly with this combination.

Last night was the first night of VBS at our church. It was A's second year doing VBS there and K and H's very first VBS experience. I was a bit concerned that H wouldn't stay, because she is very attached to me, but she did stay and had a blast. However, when I picked the kids up, A seemed very upset and in a bad mood. I told him we would talk about it in the car. So, as soon as we got in the car and headed down the road, I asked him what happened and he proceeded to tell me that he was upset because he didn't get called on to say the memory verse so he didn't get a prize.

This gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about how sometimes we cannot choose what happens around us, but we can choose the attitude we are going to have about it. He could not control if he was called on or not, but he could control the attitude he had about not being called on. We talked about the way he was acting and what he was feeling was because of a bad attitude, but that he could choose to let it go and change his attitude into a good one. 

I believe that God finds a lot of humor in giving parents opportunities to discuss topics with their children that they need to learn themselves. I don't know how many times since being an aunt-mom that I have been in the middle of lecturing one of the kids about something only to feel like I'm stepping on my own toes a bit. Thank you Holy Spirit! I will be telling my kids something and in my mind the whole time I'm thinking, but you aren't acting that way. Wow! I have found that in order to parent, you really have to think about things in a very different and thorough way in order to be able to explain them to your littles. 

They have to be taught everything! They don't know why it is important not to lie or why it is important to look at the person they are talking to. They don't know why hitting doesn't solve their problems with their brother or sister. They don't know not to talk with their mouths full. They don't know to look both ways before crossing the parking lot. They don't know that they are supposed to wear their seat belts. They don't know that how you say something is just as important as what you are saying. They don't know that being angry over silly things is being selfish. They don't know that sharing their toys now will help them to learn to share bigger things later. They don't know. We have to teach them.

 I've always been told that the best way to know if you truly understand something is if you can teach it so others can understand it. I remember being given an assignment one time in a high school math class that involved me working with a group to teach a lesson from the textbook to the rest of the class. This was my teacher's way of assessing if we actually understood the material. I think God does that to us when we become parents. He is making sure we understand these important life skills, so that we can pass them on to the next generation. That's why parenting is so important. We have to do our best to pass these skills on to them, so that one day they will understand them well enough to pass them on to their kids. We are going to mess up. I do every day, so it is a great thing that our Father is a forgiving Father who gives us many, many chances to get it right.

So, this is my thought for the day. Maybe I'm the only one. If not and you would like to share, let me know what God may be wanting you to learn through parenting your kids in the comments below. For me it's something new nearly every day, but last night he was telling me that I cannot control what happens only He can, but I can control my attitude. He wants me to have a grateful attitude about His plans for me even when I cannot see the big picture just yet. He wants this for me just as I want this for my kids.

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."                                   

        ~Proverbs 22:6

Rejoice in the truth of Christ, today!