My granddaughter was sad today. Overnight, some neighborhood kids smashed every one of the pumpkins my son and his wife used to decorate for the fall outside of their home. Lyla pulled her chair up, sat in front of the door, and just kept saying that it wasn’t very nice.
Not at all to my surprise, my daughter-in-law wasted no time in recognizing this as a teaching opportunity, and I’m so glad she did!
It doesn’t matter how old my sons and daughter-in-law are. I still have a whole lotta Mama Bear in me! Like Holly, I can’t help but to be disappointed in the behavior of some. But! As I always told my kiddos – Sometimes we have people in our lives who provide really good examples of how to treat others. And every now and then, God places people in our lives to show us how not to treat others. Both are valuable. It doesn’t matter if we are 2 or 4 or 10 or 30 or even 55 – God is going to allow people in our lives to show us examples of kindness, and unfortunately – also unkindness.
When I FaceTimed Lyla tonight, she told me about the pumpkins and said, “not very nice!” But I reminded her – because it’s never too soon to learn …
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 ESV
To the stinkers responsible for breaking Lyla’s heart today – I bet if your Mama knew you did that, it would break her Mama Bear heart. Thank you for providing my daughter-in-law with an amazing teaching opportunity today. You’re prayed for tonight.
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