Caught and Taught

A young mother came to visit with her three daughters.
What a lovely morning.
I promised that I would get out our dollhouse and all the accessories.
What memories came flooding back as I watched her little girls play.

They played with the dollhouse and all of the pieces for hours.
Their mom and I sat in my kitchen having tea.
She held her precious eight-week-old daughter in her arms.

I’ve walked where this mom is now walking.
I remember not having enough arms for all the needs.
Bathroom help for the little one who is being potty trained.
Questions answered for the older one who notices everything.

While the mom met these needs, I got to hold the baby.
What a gift!
The sweet smell of newborn skin.
The sounds babies make when they sleep.

When this precious baby woke up in my arms, she was so alert.
Her eyes wide open as if to say…I’m ready!
Two things never leave a mother…the mommy rock and the mommy talk.

The mommy rock is what all women do when they hold an infant.
With feet firmly planted on the floor, they rock side to side as they hold the baby.
It is instinctive.
Take notice…all mothers do it!

As you rock from side to side, the baby will gaze in your eyes.
You begin the mommy talk.
You lower the volume and speak with a lilting cadence.
I watched this little one as she watched me.
Then, it started.

She was trying to move her mouth.
She was mimicking what she was seeing as I talked to her.
She watched me intently as she moved her own mouth.

Are you talking to me? What do you want to tell me? Tell me a story…
And then it began.
The sounds…the coos…the inflection in her little infant voice.
I would talk to her…I would wait…she would “answer”.

Our “conversation” went on for quite a while.

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

How do our children learn?
They watch…they listen.
They repeat what they see and hear.

It is a bit daunting to think that what our children are learning…is caught as well as taught.

They catch our demeanor.
They catch our attitude.
They catch our reaction.

Good or bad.

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcome a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
(Matthew 18:1-6)

That little baby I held today…those little girls who played with my daughters’ dollhouse all morning…are considered greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

God loves little children.
They are dependent, helpless, trusting…needy.
They speak their mind…they are inquisitive…they find joy in the littlest thing.

God takes very seriously the way we train our children.
God cares about what we teach them and how we teach them.
First and foremost, we are to teach them about HIM.

We worry so much about intelligence but think very little about wisdom.

My son, if you accept My words and store up My commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:1-6)

What are our children “catching” from us?
They are watching…watching intently.
We can’t fake it!

God does not expect perfection…but He does expect faithfulness.
We must follow Christ…so that when our children follow us…they are following HIM.

One day, the coos and sounds of that precious baby will be words and sentences.
God gave each of us a story to tell.
It is HIS story.
He wants us to tell it.

We have to know the story first.
The children are watching.