401st post! What do kids see through our eyes?

For post number 401, I want to talk about an idea I have mentioned a time or two. As parents, we have a huge responsibility, challenge and blessing to raise other little human beings. And one of the biggest parts of that is they will always - even when they are adults - see the world through the filter, the lens that we as parents gave them.

They may at some point choose to go an opposite direction, but even that is rooted in what we showed them as children. We model for them how to behave in this world, how to treat other people, how to stay in control, how to be a parent, how to be married and what marriage looks like, how to forgive, and what is important and not important.  

Wow.

I am making a pact with myself today to be very intentional with the world view I give Brady. What do I want him to know of the world through my eyes? What lens am I showing him? What is getting filtered out and what is put in sharp focus? Is it a lens of tolerance, patience, kindness, caring and love?


What am I teaching him about other people? Am I teaching him to be graceful when people don't do what we want? Am I teaching him to be compassionate even with someone you may not like or who thinks or acts differently than us? Am I teaching him to be prayerful and not judgmental? That we are no better than others. That we can and should help those who need it.

Am I teaching him to treat his body with respect by how he cares for it, what he eats and whether he stays active?

Am I teaching him to be self reliant, to take personal responsibility, and not expect the world to give him everything? That we don't get everything we want and that's okay? That we don't "need" most of what we "want". To be grateful for what we do have and see how there are others with far less? To work hard and see the results of that?

Am I teaching him that the natural world - both what we as humans deem "good" or "bad" - is part of a larger picture? That it is all connected? That we are all connected? Am I teaching him to be kind and gentle both in words and deeds to all living things?

Am I teaching him that God should take the top spot in our lives? To rely on prayer and faith when everything else has failed? That there are things in this life we cannot handle all on our own?

Whatever I focus on each and every day, whatever I say or do, tells him what I believe is important and how I believe we should act and speak. That is a TREMENDOUS weight of responsibility. For now, he looks to me to show him the way. Someday, it will be too late and that lens will be locked in place.

So I promise to myself and to Brady and to the Lord to do my absolute best to parent intentionally from this day on.