I think one of the hardest things about being a mom is teaching our kids those things that are not always the easiest things to do. i always swore i would never say some of things i have said since i have become a mom like "it doesn't matter if you lose just as long as you tried" (i m so competitive it is hard for me to say that), and today i pulled the whole "you know there are kids in other parts of the world that have never even tasted ice cream" well not exactly i imagined i wouldn't say it but you know what i mean?!
Today my Liz(10) got a award at there chapel services (she goes to private school) and all the kids who get a award get there name in a bowl and who ever gets pulled wins a gift card to coldstone creamery. Well Liz wins and then she is all excited. well all the kids get dismissed to go there classes and she walks up to me and says "it is only $5" WHOA one minute what?!?!?!? i was so angry but i told her "well fine since you don't appreciate that prize you can pray and see who God wants you to give that too because you will not be keeping it!" she didn't argue and went to class. it bugged me all day because Liz is never like this she is the nicest kid, and i am not just saying that. when i picked her up this afternoon she said that he gave it to a friend and I explained how some kids never get ice cream and that some don't even eat every day. you know what she did? she cried. big ol' crocodile tears. this child i am not sure she is my daughter i am not a crier! anywho she was really upset and then when her dad talked to her it was all over again, the rivers flowed. BUT i think she will be a little more grateful when she receives something.
That led john and i to a topic of conversations, do we give our kids too much? maybe?! but i don't think too much i mean half of the time i say i will pay them there allowance and i think i owe them all more than most people own there credit cards... they don't have a ton of toys, designer clothes, or crazy amounts of things. but they have a lot more than some kids do. the bottom line is i don't think our kids have too much i think we need to teach them to be grateful for what they have. God has entrusted us with these kids and we are so supposed to teach them how to be kind, loving, respectful, obedient, grateful, unselfish and the list goes on....
this gig is tough! but i am so thankful for it.............
I wonder why she was upset that it was only $5. Does she know how much it costs to buy an ice cream? Maybe she thought it wouldn't cover, or she thought she'd be able to take the whole family out but when she saw that it was $5 she knew she couldn't? Anyway, you're right, being a Mom IS hard, that's for sure. We are working so hard to shape their hearts!
ReplyDeleteWe are dealing with the same issues in our house. It is constantly on my heart to raise grateful children. It is hard to find the balance between blessing them and giving them too much and teaching them to be grateful for what they have! This is a tough gig!
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