Smooth Move

Yesterday Tess called me from her college dorm room to proudly tell me that she had made a delicious green smoothie.  Less than an hour later, her brother called from the same city to tell me that he had just fixed himself an amazing green smoothie which he planned to eat with his supper.  These two phone calls thrilled me…and not just because they were from my sweet babies and they were on the same day.  No, they thrilled me because my sweet babies were doing what they had seen me do, again and again and again, morning after morning; they were preparing healthy green smoothies for their very own selves.

Now you must understand my excitement here; these are the same kids who ridiculed me for drinking this unique concoction day after day; the same kids who warily asked me every time I fixed them their own smoothies, “Is there spinach in this?”; and the same kids who thought their mom was over-the-top weird because she ate last night’s veggies in a shake every morning. 

And here’s the take-away from all of this:  Your kids are watching you.  If you continue to wholeheartedly embrace and chase after certain things like good nutrition and exercise, your kids have a good chance of following in your footsteps—even if they made fun of you at first.  Those consistent habits they watched you forge are what they know of “how things work”, and they will often adopt them when they have lives of their own.

But here’s the even better take-away:  If you have been chasing after Jesus with your whole heart while your children have grown, they have seen that too.  In fact, they have had a front row seat to your success at reflecting Jesus…and your failures.  I think maybe it is how we deal with these failures, in the light of eternity, that   affects our kids most profoundly.  And I think our authenticity about our relationship with the Creator of the Universe speaks volumes to their souls—even if they make fun of it at first.

So….keep doing what you’re doing Mom or Dad; walk in the Truth, admit you’re wrong, seek forgiveness, extend more grace than judgment, and love those who seem unlovable.  Your actions are imprinting on your children whether they know it or not, because…they are watching.

And you are pleasing God.

Now, If I could just convince you to try my green smoothies…