A lesson from my 3-year-old

As parents, there are a lot of things we have taught our Noah over the years. We’ve taught him to sit, crawl and walk. We’ve taught him to feed himself. We’ve recently been teaching him how to brush his own teeth, and potty training – well, we nailed that lesson at last!

We’ve also taught him to say please and thank you, I love you, hello and goodbye. One of the best things we have taught him, is how to pray – not just at meal times, but also at bedtime, or when someone is hurt or sick or even if you just want to pray for someone who is on your mind. We’re constantly teaching him more about who Jesus is, and why we love Him so much and have Him in our lives.

We’ve taught him a lot over the years, and naturally will continue to teach him things, as the years go on. Oh, the privilege of parenting!

Then there are the days when the tables are turned, and I learn a lesson, or get reminded of a simple fact of life, from my Noah. That happened about two weeks ago, on my birthday! We were at the airport, getting ready to say good bye to Daddy, get on a plane and fly to Jo’burg. And boy, did we have one excited little boy, just bursting to go and fly on an actual airplane! Cue lesson number one – get excited about life, and anything it may send your way. Just get excited!

             The first photo is the day we went to JHB. The second photo is the day we came back to CT. I just realized we were dressed rather similarly for both trips! 

Lesson number one was reinforced by lesson number two – experience new things as often as you can. And be excited about it! I learnt this, by watching my son ride on an escalator for the first time. He has always been carried on an escalator, but on this day at the airport, he actually stepped onto it, holding his Dad’s hand, and stood on it, as it took them all the way to the top. He tried something new, and he was excited about it. He loved it so much, it’s all he wanted to do until we got onto our plane!

I wish I could have adequately captured the joy and wonder on my boy’s face at the airport that day; the pride of doing something new, albeit something as simple as stepping onto an escalator, and then stepping into an airplane. It was such a beautiful reminder to find joy and wonder in life. And to get excited about this beautiful life we live!

Thank you for teaching me this on my birthday, my sweet boy!

What lessons have you learnt recently from your children? I’d love to hear from you!