(Available from KOORONG – a series for various people)
That’s the title of a book that was recently given to me by one of my children. It is a special book because of who gave it to me, but also because of the very valuable and meaningful insights that it contains.
I would like to share just a short quote with you.
…most parenting cannot be planned – except in your own personal walk with God. Many great opportunities for lasting impressions are either lost or become negative because you can’t fake what you are when the unexpected comes. (Page11-12)
The author tells the story of his son playing in the yard with the lid of a paint tin. It was before the days of the frisbee. The lad threw it and enjoyed having a lot of fun with it until it landed on the roof of the chicken coop. As there was no ladder, he couldn’t retrieve his new toy. He patiently waited for Dad to arrive home from work. As Dad walked up to the verandah, his son told him what had happened and asked Dad if he could help him get the tin lid down. Dad put his lunch boxed and briefcase down and went and hoisted the lad onto the roof of the coop to get the lid down. He then caught his smiling son who he invited to jump down into his strong arms. A life lasting impression was made in those few minutes on the man’s son.
The author writes-
If my father had generally been selfishly unconcerned with his children’s cares, there would have been no time or cause for him to turn this unexpected moment into a great triumph – he would have acted according to his nature, told me he was much too tired to fool with me, reprimanded me for my carelessness, and gone into the house leaving me to my own devices -–and the moment would have passed. (Page 12)
Wow! Who would have thought one such minor incident would have remained imbedded in the son’s memory to recount it 45 years later? We have many special opportunities each day to be the image of Christ to our children and show them that we really do care about them. Christ put himself last and us first to the point of giving his life, where do we put our children in relation to something as small as giving little bits of our time?
Lord, make me a parent who surprises my children with the generosity of giving myself and my time and let them know that they are very precious! Amen
Neil P. Schiller