Teachable Moments

I have been trying to write this blog for almost a week now and things have been so crazy that I haven’t got to finish it, so here goes. (pray for no interruptions)

In the lives of toddlers and preschoolers there is almost an endless opportunity for “teachable moments.” However, most of these “moments” are teaching them right from wrong, or to share, or their shapes, colors, letters, etc… I got the opportunity the other day to have a spiritual, teachable moment with Savannah Grace.

Last Wednesday SG had an ENT appt. to have her ear tubes checked. While we were in the office we noticed out the window that 3 police cars had blocked off the traffic going towards GA 400 and 2 Alpharetta fire trucks were parked in the parking lot of the pediatric center. Obviously this made me a little nervous and I couldn’t help but wonder if the office was on fire and we didn’t know about it!! Anyway, we never heard any fire alarms so we went on with our visit and then went to the audiologists to get some earplugs for swimming. Everything went very smoothly and her ears look great. On our way out of the building I noticed that everything was the same as when we saw it in the office and I began to dread trying to get out of there and driving home. As we were going out a lady and her kids were on the way in so I politely asked her if there had been an accident or something. She promptly responded with a “no” and went on to explain that there was a child in the pediatric center that needed to be life-flighted to Scottish Rite. So the 3 police cars blocking the traffic allowed the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta helicopter to land on the road and shortly after that 3 EMTs wheeled out a small child on a stretcher and secured him into the helicopter. All the while I was trying to explain to SG what was going on because she had 101 questions. As they were packing up to fly off I thought that it would be a great moment to share with her and teach her how to pray for others, even when we don’t know there name or exactly what their need is. So right then and there we stopped and I said a pray for this child and when I was done SG said a sweet prayer too. When we got done praying we watched as the helicopter took off and felt the “big windy,” as SG called it, in our hair. Once the helicopter was out of sight we headed to the car but on our way she stopped to tell the fire fighter “thank you” for helping the baby. (Because we saw the fire trucks she was convinced that the baby had touched fire so she kept asking me why the baby had touched the fire. It’s so funny how little kids link and/or relate things together)

Obey the First Time

Ok, in the past I haven’t ever really posted anything inspiring or philosophical so I thought I would give it a shot and see how it goes.

One of our most used phrases with Savannah Grace these days is, “Obey the first time.” I am so tired of telling her EVERYTHING 5 or 6 times. Sometimes I want her to obey the first time just because and other times I need her to obey the first time for her safety, but she doesn’t seem to understand that.

The more I say this phrase and the more I think about ways to make it “click” with her the more the Lord has revealed to me how this phrase relates to my relationship with Him. He has showed me some areas in my life where He is saying, “Obey the first time.”

As frustrated as I get, daily, with Savannah Grace and as much as I think, “If she would just obey the first time her life would be so much easier.” As much as I want her to know that I say all of these things because I love her and right now I know what is best for her, God has showed me it’s the same way with us. He loves me so much and knows what’s best for me and He knows that if I would just obey Him my life would be so much better. I am sure the Lord gets frustrated with me and wonders why I don’t trust Him enough to just obey, even though he has been so faithful to my family and me.

Well I have never professed to being perfect and this is just the latest installment to this “work in progress.” And now that the Lord has shed His light on this place in my life it has given me a fresh cupful of patience for Savannah Grace. If you think about it, lift both of us up in your prayers as we work through this life lesson together.

In what areas of your life is God calling you to obey (the first time He asks)?