Our five year-old Matthew and I were up early the other day
so we went for a brisk morning walk together and talked along the way. His sister and daddy were still asleep when
we returned home so we started breakfast together. Then another day he saw me reading my Bible
so he got his Illustrated Children’s Bible (New Testament) out and we read
together from that. Both of these cool
moments were totally unplanned by me. I feel honored when I get these concentrated
opportunities with my son and I’m thinking he likes it too.
“My son, pay attention
to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, That you may preserve
discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.” Proverbs 5:1-2
A friend gave me a great advice about “dating” my son. She encouraged me to take just him out to eat and let him
talk. Speaking from wisdom she let me in
on a thing or two about boys/guys – they talk over food. Mommas, if we spend this concentrated time
with our sons on a regular basis, they will be comfortable talking to us about
anything… and probably setting them up to be able to communicate well with a wife
someday, too.
I also witnessed this intentional concentration on one child
at a time through my mother-in-law who was a foster mom of many children at a
time. She would set aside her schedule
and the child’s schedule to spend that day dedicated to that child. Usually it was just for a few hours or just
to a certain place the child really enjoyed.
Come to think of it, she did this with me too when I was dating my
husband, before marriage. It’s a time to
listen, encourage, listen, have fun, listen, observe, and oh did I mention to
listen?
Leave a comment below if you do this and what benefits you’ve
experienced as a result of purposefully concentrating time on the children in
your care, one at a time.
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