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Everyday moments are a powerful way for our kids to learn about loving the Lord and others.
The other day, my daughter, Brooklyn, was mad at her sister for not sharing the fort builder sticks. When Brooklyn came down to talk about it, I first asked her to put her and her sister’s plate in the dishwasher. To my surprise, Brooklyn didn’t say a word but just did it, even though she was frustrated with her sister.
When I see a teachable moment, I try to jump on it.
I huddled our kids together and shared how Brooklyn had loved like Jesus loves us – even though we sin and mess up, Jesus still loves us deeply and even gave his life for us. When Brooklyn chose to wash her sister’s dish, she was still frustrated with her, but she did it because she loves me and her sister.
That is life. That is love. That is Jesus.
Fast forward to that afternoon. I was frustrated with my husband and saw his dish on the counter. I’m not kidding you, I said to myself, “He can get his dish.”
Immediately, I thought of Brooklyn putting her sister’s plate in the dishwasher. Convicting! So, I chose to replace my ugliness with love. I cleaned his dish and put it away because I love him and the Lord.
In that simple grace-filled moment, I asked the Lord for forgiveness and to love better (And, yes, I told my daughter that her example helped me love her daddy better!).
Isn’t it nice when our first reaction is great? Well, when that doesn’t happen and our responses are anything but great, we have a chance to rewrite them.
Instead of growing in bitterness, we can grow in grace.
That is life. That is love. That is Jesus.
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Linsey Driskill 