If you’re a “Type-A personality” like myself, with an oldest child mentality to boot, you understand the dilemma I often face in my mind. Whether in the workplace, in friendships, counseling others, family matters, or raising your kids, the question arises of, “What motivates others?”
I’ve come to realize that most situations are not the crises that they initially present themselves to be, and that pressure or urgency to react is in most cases not from God’s Spirit.
How do we in the midst of undesirable circumstances maintain our trust in God? Maybe we’ve learned to persevere in challenging circumstances in our own lives, but what about challenging circumstances that involve our kids?
When you get the privilege to become a parent, you get the awesome experience to realize that not everyone is like you, not even your child! I can laugh at this, because from the very first months of having our son, we realized that we were going to need to RELY on the Holy Spirit to lead us in leading him.
One day my 7-year-old son and I had a conversation about giving. I began by reminding him of how much stuff he has been accumulating over the years, and particularly since his last birthday and Christmas. I asked him if he ever thought about giving one of his toys to someone who might be without, or even just to a friend, since his currency at the moment is toys.