Apparently my Chocolate Lab, Breck, barks at night. Usually it is late at night, when people with work to do in the morning are trying to sleep. My neighbors knew about this problem. Now, I do, too!
I feel embarrassed. I knew that this was a problem, but I thought it had gone away. It hasn’t. Now that it is summer and we are running the air conditioner, I hadn’t noticed. I may be the only one on the Ranch who hadn’t.
That seems to be the way life is. The only guy who doesn’t know that he really can’t sing is the one who insists on trying for the high notes in the church choir. The only family who hasn’t noticed the house’s desperate need for new paint is the one living inside.
And the only parents who haven’t noticed that their children need help are the ones responsible! How can we parents avoid being “the last person to know” about the things we ourselves are responsible to change? Here are three keys that may help you to be the first to know and the first to help:
1. Observe without distraction. No person in the church lobby is more important than your own child. That child may well be the only person there for whom you are intrinsically responsible. Know where your children are and what they are doing, even at the expense of an engaging conversation with someone else. The younger the child, the closer they should be to you at such times.
2. Respond with a bias. It is primarily your child and not your reputation that is at stake. Our bias should be for our children and for the action that is required to guide them in the everyday situations of life. This means we must see our children clearly and not overlook the problems that require our attention.
3. Consider where you are trending. If I ignore my barking dog, I may end up losing a friend! If I ignore my child, I may well end up losing the opportunity to do something in time. Don’t be a worrier; God will give grace as you are deliberate and as you are dependent upon Him. But be mindful of where you and your child will be in four years if you continue on your present course.
If we will be as purposeful in rearing our children as a responsible dog owner is at raising a pup, we will reap the blessings!