Each year comes and goes and each
year I find out how little I really know.
Daily life can point out what you don’t know, your friends are good at
pointing out what you wish you knew, and your boss can often point out what
they wished you would learn. It really
is amazing, but I find that it is often through my children that I learn my
most important lessons.
From my eldest son, Chris, I have
learned a number of things. He’s taught
me to do hard things, even when you don’t seem to have time to do them. This year he showed me the importance of taking
chances. He made changes in several
important areas of his life this year, there was no need to, and he could have
comfortably stayed in his proven routine.
He realized changes were needed and that they would be good for him.
My eldest daughter has taught me a
lot about being a dad over the years. Dominique
has taught me to be gentle, patient, and cautious in the way I speak. This year she showed me a new lesson, how to
be willing. Throughout this year she has
shown her mother and I a willingness to take on whatever her circumstances
require. No matter what we have required
of her, no matter the curves life has thrown, she has shown steadfastness. When life got in the way of her plans, she
accepted the new reality and moved on without complaint. When I asked her to take on extra
responsibilities at home, she did so and asked if she could help in other ways.
My youngest daughter, Alexandra,
has taught me so many lessons of the heart.
It’s because of her words that I made a huge change in my life in
2006. This year she taught me the
meaning of truly smiling. When she
smiles, she doesn’t hold back, she lets it be as big and goofy and fun as it
needs to be. Her laugh has refocused me
to what joys I was overlooking when I came home from a lousy day dozens of
times this year. It is because of her
that I have begun to enjoy the pleasures of a good laugh again.
Jeremiah, son number two, has been
a teacher to me on many fronts. He is
single minded about goals. He has and
shows a soft heart. He stops to help
others. This year he taught me about trusting
God’s plan for me. I learned this from
him after a practice session during which his coach had shared with him some
disappointing news. Instead of getting
down, he considered his coach’s opinion as that of an authority put in place by
God, and decided he would trust his decision.
He even had the boldness to tell his coach he was okay with the decision
because it was part of God’s plan.
“From the mouths of babes…” goes an
old saying. Well, my children are not
babes, but from their mouths and from their actions I experienced wisdom spoken
into my life.
