As I write, we are in a hotel waiting to catch a flight back to Okinawa. We had a great visit with our family in California. Lee has gone on ahead of us.
David has been interested in all things mechanical lately. When my youngest asked me why the refrigerator in the kitchen wasn’t dispensing water, I told her it wasn’t hooked up and she’d have to use tap water. No problem.
But David perked up and decided to try to figure it out. As I watched him, I saw a great deal of his daddy in him. Lee has always enjoyed fixing things and figuring out how things work, and David has learned a lot by watching his daddy. Lee is pretty good about giving David experience by asking him to fix things that he could do himself, and I’m thankful that God has allowed plenty of time when his dad wasn’t able to fix things so David could have more opportunities to do so.
I wonder if there are skills I want to pass on to my children that I’m not giving them opportunities to learn by struggling through, just like I learned them. It’s easy for a woman who is a good cook, for example, to keep the kids out of the kitchen. It’s hard to watch a young child measuring imperfectly without stepping in to correct or just take over.
What skills do I want to pass along? Well, cooking is a good one. Cleaning the house isn’t one. I’m still working on mastering that one, and I can help them with my failures just as much as my strengths, I guess! Reading thoughtfully, perhaps. Or writing. Looking for wisdom and reading the Bible. Living life, maybe. I’ve seen plenty of times that God has prevented me from micromanaging, and I’m thankful for his guidance (enough to pray for it more).
My prayer this morning is that God will help me give my children the right balance of help and space to learn. And I’ve been brainstorming ways to deliberately teach my children some specific skills of following God.
What skills do you have that you want to pass on to your children? How are you accomplishing that goal?
I’ve recently realized what a poor listener I am at times. I am working with intentionality at being a good listener to my children. Stopping what I am doing, looking them in the eye, making clarifying statements (they don’t like questions) and asking them to expand on what they are saying. My tendency is to feel hurried and busy, but I want to pass on the skill of being a good listener to my children. I must show them first I am willing to be one!
That’s a challenging idea, Laura! Thanks for sharing. How are things going? Do you see any improvement?