Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The other day it finally rained in our parched little town. We’re in the middle of a drought, and the torrential rainfall was such a welcome and strange sight. It rained so much in such a short time that the streets began flooding, which, believe me, no one minded at all. After so many long months with very little rain, it was nice to see the ditches and roadways overflowing with rushing water. When Adelade saw the water filling the roadways, she commented: Daddy said that Disney World has drainage problems. What?? Well, we went to Disney World when Adelade was five years old. She’s nine now, but she remembered walking the streets of Disney hand in hand with her Daddy after an afternoon rain. While they walked, he told her–you guessed it–that Disney World has drainage problems.
Kids have minds like gloriously uncluttered steel traps. If she remembers some completely inconsequential thing that her daddy told her four years ago, before she even started kindergarten, how much more does she remember about the important stuff she’s seen and heard?
As adults we often tend to believe that kids aren’t paying attention. But, we teach them so many things when we don’t even realize that they’re tuned in. And, for the record, kids are always tuned in, even when they seem mesmerized by the TV. Here are five things we teach our kids when we don’t know they’re watching.
1. We teach them how to treat others. Our kids notice everything about our interactions with other people. Even when they seem engrossed in all of the cool stuff near the checkout at the store, they are aware of how the adults around them are behaving. If we are rude to a clerk, they see it. If we speak harshly to our spouse, they take notice. If we call our friend and say mean things about someone, they are watching. They pay attention to our dealings with other adults because they are trying to figure out how grown ups act. They see us as prime examples of how to be in social situations. So, when we show them that people’s feelings don’t matter, we are training them to be bullies. We are showing them that being rude and offended and harsh are our favorite ways to be. And, most of all, we are teaching them that our faith has no bearing on our treatment of others. Instead, we should live out this truth: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
2. We teach them how to be husbands and wives. Our kids know many married people. But, only one couple is with them at all hours of the day and night. Only one couple deals in stress, romance, prayer, sacrifice, compromise, disagreements, and fun right under their roof day in and day out. As their parents, we are their number one source of information on what it’s like to be married. And, they are watching how we deal with things. Most children eventually leave their parents’ house determined to have a marriage either just like their parents’ or just the opposite of it. Many an adult is still dealing with the repercussions of bad examples that persisted in their parents’ marriages. And many are trying to break cycles that hurt their parents’ marriages and are now hurting theirs. Christian marriages are designed to be a clear picture of the gospel. How much gospel did we show our kids in our interactions with our spouses today? What if this was what our kids learned by watching us be married: Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not promote itself, is not puffed up, does not behave badly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
by Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
