You can learn a lot from watching kids
I have learned that I learn such valuable and noteworthy life lessons just by watching Gardner.
Case in point.... I watch him nearly every day as he travels on his teetering feet until he finally drops and surrenders to all fours (it's much faster, so why not?). He races from study to kitchen to den, crossing through the dining room each round. Right in the center (like in most dining rooms) lies our dining room table. He drops whatever is in his hand, makes little grunting sounds, and proceeds to climb through the web of chair legs. It takes him a minute or more to exit the other side, if he even does. Sometimes he cries for help when he feels as if he's gotten trapped or bogged down in all of the wooden legs, and I rush to rescue him, laughing (he soon laughs with me).
I ask him every time, "Why do you go through the table, Gardner? Wouldn't it be much faster just to crawl AROUND the table?" He looks at me, or rather right through me, not understanding yet what I'm trying to tell him.
I see two lessons from this cute little quirk he has (and that all babies probably have at this stage). One, like Gardner navigating through the tangle of table, we sometimes make things unnecessarily more complicated and difficult than they should be. Some of us (I have been guilty several times) actually like to have problems so we'll have something to complain about. We know it'd be much easier if we'd just stop, think it through, and plan our careful route (covering all paths in prayer beforehand). But no....we delve right in, head first, stubborn and headstrong....and then we cry when we get stuck. I think sometimes God must pick us up, wipe the dirt off, and say lovingly, "You know, Meg, it would have been much less stressful if you had just asked me which way to go. I can see the clear path around the tangles....you can't....but you never once asked me."
The other lesson I see is sort of the antithesis of this. Sometimes we take the easy way out....but to a fault. We become gun-shy, fearful, and lean toward the extreme side of caution. We no longer think outside the box, or take on any big challenges. It's easier just to take the low road, the easy way out. In the meantime, we might miss the satisfaction that comes along with completing a daunting task. (You know the rush that you get from surmounting a physical task, such as climbing a mountain, or overcoming a fear, such as the fear of flying?)
You can look at this two ways....there is a flipside. I just love taking snippets of Gardner's busy day and turning them into miniature token thoughts for my own day.
Thank You, God, for one more teacher added to my life....little as he may be!
Case in point.... I watch him nearly every day as he travels on his teetering feet until he finally drops and surrenders to all fours (it's much faster, so why not?). He races from study to kitchen to den, crossing through the dining room each round. Right in the center (like in most dining rooms) lies our dining room table. He drops whatever is in his hand, makes little grunting sounds, and proceeds to climb through the web of chair legs. It takes him a minute or more to exit the other side, if he even does. Sometimes he cries for help when he feels as if he's gotten trapped or bogged down in all of the wooden legs, and I rush to rescue him, laughing (he soon laughs with me).
I ask him every time, "Why do you go through the table, Gardner? Wouldn't it be much faster just to crawl AROUND the table?" He looks at me, or rather right through me, not understanding yet what I'm trying to tell him.
I see two lessons from this cute little quirk he has (and that all babies probably have at this stage). One, like Gardner navigating through the tangle of table, we sometimes make things unnecessarily more complicated and difficult than they should be. Some of us (I have been guilty several times) actually like to have problems so we'll have something to complain about. We know it'd be much easier if we'd just stop, think it through, and plan our careful route (covering all paths in prayer beforehand). But no....we delve right in, head first, stubborn and headstrong....and then we cry when we get stuck. I think sometimes God must pick us up, wipe the dirt off, and say lovingly, "You know, Meg, it would have been much less stressful if you had just asked me which way to go. I can see the clear path around the tangles....you can't....but you never once asked me."
The other lesson I see is sort of the antithesis of this. Sometimes we take the easy way out....but to a fault. We become gun-shy, fearful, and lean toward the extreme side of caution. We no longer think outside the box, or take on any big challenges. It's easier just to take the low road, the easy way out. In the meantime, we might miss the satisfaction that comes along with completing a daunting task. (You know the rush that you get from surmounting a physical task, such as climbing a mountain, or overcoming a fear, such as the fear of flying?)
You can look at this two ways....there is a flipside. I just love taking snippets of Gardner's busy day and turning them into miniature token thoughts for my own day.
Thank You, God, for one more teacher added to my life....little as he may be!
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