Monday, July 13, 2009

Ahh, Failure...

Sometimes, as a parent, you have these moments, where you actually start thinking that you might be doing something right.  I think it is gracious of God to give us these "complete failure" moments, just to make sure we really understand that nothing of value comes from us, except that which is completely from His Spirit of grace and truth.  If something good or true comes from our kids, it is most certainly God's doing (quite likely in spite of us!) and in His kindness He allows us as parents to be part of it.

Ben: Caleb, did you meet any new friends at Vacation Bible School?
Caleb:  No.
Me:  Did you sit by anyone new, or play with anyone new?
Caleb:  Well, no one really looked very cool.
WHAT!!???  (this is what I was thinking to myself)
Ben:  What do you mean?
Caleb:  Well, no one looked very cool.
Ben:  How do you know if someone looks cool?
Caleb:  Well, their clothes weren't cool looking.

And there it is.
Followed by much discussion, and a hopeful "let's try to be friends with EVERYONE tomorrow!" pep talk.  But yeah, we aren't quite sure where that all came from, but it was a good reminder.  For all of us.  And it was a good time for Ben and I to giggle, to examine our own hearts and attitudes, and to remember that these kids belong to the good God who created them, and He has good plans for them, and He is working His purposes in His timing, and yeah, there is always room for correction. =)

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

3 comments:

sarahgrace said...

I have my own parental failure story to add. Last Saturday night, I asked the kids if they wanted to go to church, and Beau excitedly said, "YES!" and Drew very determinedly said, "no." When I asked him why, concerned that he might have had a rough time in his Sunday School class or something, he said, "I don't want it to cut into my video game time."
After that I realized I need to instruct our children in getting their priorities straight! And yes, we did go to church that night. :)

Tonya said...

that is too funny didn't look cool. out of the mouths of babes. So glad you turned it into a life lesson for him.

Provl8dy said...

As his VBS teacher I find this very interesting......*snicker, snicker*