Failed Expectations

Failed Expectations

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

Proverbs 22:6

In my mind, it was a grand idea. A kid’s clothing store had great deals on fleece pants and pullovers, and we had several families in our city in need of basics, including warm clothes.

I packed up the kids, gave them some money, and explained the game plan: we were buying warm clothes for other kids. It seemed so simple. Fast-forward to ten minutes later, and I had one child lying on the floor, so completely done with the experience. I was beyond frustrated that the vision in my head wasn’t playing out the way I had intended.

Argh!

I wish I could say that I was calm, cool, and collected as I watched my good intentions implode, but I wasn’t. I felt myself getting anxious, uptight, and slightly snappy. As we grabbed our selections and headed to the checkout counter to make our purchases, I made the wise decision to just let go of the experience, for now. I knew we would circle back to it in a conversation when my kids delivered the clothing to the local nonprofit organization handling distribution.

Teaching kids to be generous and to think bigger and beyond themselves is a journey, not a onetime event. If your grand plan doesn’t work, regroup and try again later. When I think about the processes of forming habits and training minds, I realize they both occur over time through education and hands-on experiences. The best training is repetitive and ongoing and allows us to flail, fail, and slowly figure it out through repetition and practice.

If you’re a parent, you’re in this apprenticeship program for the long haul. Don’t get discouraged. Keep at it. God encourages us that the battle will be worth it and that children trained up and discipled into faith will not depart from it. That is something I cling to on the rough days, knowing that God is doing something bigger in my children than I could ever do on my own.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Include your children in a random act of kindness, and let them pick the kind act.