My Child, The Teacher

My daughter has enlightened my life with the two most amazing tips lately. The first tip was given to me a few weeks ago, when I was wearing a black shirt, and had somehow managed to get deodorant streaks across both sides of it. My efforts to wash them off with a wet washcloth seemed to be to no avail.

As I stood there losing the battle against the white streaks, she walked through my bedroom and casually said as she passed, "just use some black pantyhose". Huh? I have never heard of that and was sure that it would not work, but since nothing else been successful, I pulled out a pair of hose and gently rubbed them against my shirt. It was like a magic act! The white streaks disappeared quickly and completely! I was amazed, never will I forget this awesome tip! Every morning when I get dressed, I no longer stress about getting deodorant on my clothes, because now I know it doesnt have to be there all day because I have plenty of pantyhose!

This same daughter has a constant case of the hiccups. Loud hiccups. Hiccups that startle people and make them stare over at us when we are in public places. But she went on a mission trip recently and came home with a remedy. The first time I saw her doing it, I once again did not believe her new-found method would cure her hiccups. I've seen and read lots and lots of so called cures for hiccups before, and none of them ever work. But this time, when she performed her hiccup remedy - within seconds, her hiccups were gone. It was like magic again! She simply took a big swallow of water and held both hands tightly over her ears before she swallowed, and the hiccups stopped! What a smart girl. Wow. Where does she learn all these cool things?

Aside from these silly (but awesome!) tips, I often do gain great knowledge from my children. They always seem to say things to make me think; things to make me look at how I am acting or habits that I have that are not always becoming; things that help me see situations or people in a different perspective than I had been seeing; sometimes they help us to put on those rose colored glasses that grownups have usually stored away in the attic.

Sometimes we need to listen our kids. God uses them to teach us, just as He uses us to teach them. It's a two way street. Yes, I know I am the parent, and I consider that a huge privilege and responsibility and lean on God every day to help me be the Godly parent that He has called me to be.

However, knowing that, I pray that I can still keep my heart open to learning from them, and not discount their wise instruction simply due to their age. God speaks in a variety of ways and I know He uses my children to reach my heart at times.

What about you?