Four Lessons Learned from an Unlikely Source
We all like to learn from mentors or respected teachers. If you are a church goer, your pastor or Bible study leader teaches you on a weekly basis. In the workplace, more than likely you have a co-worker or boss who guides you. Sometimes, however, we can learn life’s greatest truths from the most unlikely sources.
A few weekends ago, I took a Father-Son trip with our youngest son, Lincoln. When our twins were in Kindergarten (five years ago), we started a tradition of getting away for a weekend to celebrate the milestone of starting school. My time away with Lincoln was incredible. We flew out on a Saturday, and came back on a Monday, and spent three days touring and enjoying the best of Atlanta. We made some great memories and laughed a ton. More than anything, our time away deepened our father-son bond and gave us a shared experience we will each always remember.
In addition to having a great time, I learned or re-learned four valuable lessons from my six-year old:
1. I want to live life with more joy.
Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is often linked with circumstances, whereas joy is more of a lifestyle mindset. Biblically when I think of joy, I think of the apostle Paul, who in the book of Philippians, writes from a prison cell and challenges the readers to rejoice in the Lord, regardless of circumstances. (Philippians 4:4, see also 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). My ‘joy’ tends to masquerade itself as happiness, because it is so often tied to my circumstances.
Yes, my six-year old cries and pitches fits on occasion, but he is the most joyful child I have ever seen, who consistently smiles, knows no stranger, and finds joy in almost every situation.
2. I want to be silly more often.
Man… I have gotten so uptight over the years. I remember I used to laugh and cut up a lot more, with my wife, family, and friends. Now I feel like I am uptight and schedule-driven almost all of the time.
One of the highlights of our trip was sitting in a Moe’s, listening to the music in the restaurant and literally dancing in our booth and up and down the aisles together. We laughed so hard. Even after getting back home I have tried to laugh and be silly with my kids and wife more often.
3. I want to have a child-like faith
Several times throughout the weekend, Lincoln wanted to know where we were headed. Each time I told him to trust daddy and enjoy the surprise when we arrived. His response each time was a simple, “Yes sir, Daddy.”
I long to have a simple, childlike faith that trusts the Father. A faith that trusts the giver of the gift, knowing that every good and perfect gift comes from above, and that I trust the One who gives the gift (James 1:16-18, Luke 11:13). So often, I choose to not trust God; rather, I want to know the details instead of simply trusting Him.
4. I want to slow down more often.
Lincoln moves at a snail’s pace. Sometimes it drives me crazy: when he ties his shoes, when he takes forever to eat a meal, when he needs to clean up his room, etc… On our trip, I found myself frustrated at how long it took Lincoln to go to the bathroom and wash his hands. In frustration, I almost snapped at him to hurry up, until I realized we had no place to go, no deadline, nothing pushing our time-table. Yet, I found myself anxiously wanting to move more quickly.
I want to live life at a much slower pace instead of constantly rushing and running around. At a minimum, I want to create margin in my schedule so I am not always time-crunched.
Four Priceless lessons learned
You know the famous credit card commercials: Baseball game tickets: $20, Hot Dog, $4.00, Popcorn, $5.00. Creating memories with your kids: Priceless. This is how I would characterize this trip with Lincoln. Yes, there are expenses like hotel, flight, and car. But, the memories created and lessons learned along the way: Priceless.
Very Simple: live life with more joy, be silly more often, grow in my childlike faith and slow down more often. Priceless.
Now What?
Read Part 2 - One Investment in Your Child You'll Never Regret
Take some time today to learn from some likely and unlikely sources. Maybe it’s your children. Maybe it’s someone who works for you at your workplace. Maybe it’s your mentor.
What's something you are learning from an unlikely source?