We Can Impact How Our Children View Life

Texas storms can be fierce.

As I was laying in bed one morning around 4 am, listening to the sky shake and thunder, as rain poured down and the sky lit up… I remembered my earliest memory of a storm.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. And I remember excitedly making hot chocolate, sitting out on our back patio (we had an awning), and watching the storm, all snuggled up in blankets – me, my mom, and my sister.

Good memories.

Warm memories.

And as I lay in bed recently, listening to a storm fiercer than anything I heard as a child, I thought, “Thank you, mom.”  For I wasn’t scared. In fact, I’ve always loved storms. And I attribute that, to a mom who started me out, in expectation and wonder, instead of fear.

I’ve tried to do something similar with my own children. We often, have watched out the windows as lightening flashed across the sky, or sat out on a back patio and observed and exclaimed over the power and might of a storm.

We can impact our children’s view of life. We can influence them, to cultivate an attitude of joy, excitement, and awe - or fear, loathing, and frustration.  We can do this by how we, ourselves, treat circumstances in life.  Our attitudes are “catching.” Our children “catch” moods, views, and perspectives, from us.

Sure, our children aren’t going to adopt the same attitude as us on everything in life. But, we still have powerful influence that we often underestimate.

I never knew that I would end up in a state that had some of the most powerful and earth-shaking storms I’ve ever encountered.  Nor did my mom. But one night is all it took to forever shape and mold my mind when it comes to storms.

One night.

I’m so thankful that was a positive night. A positive moment, and a positive memory.

Lord, may we be intentional with our children, and with our attitudes, as we face little AND big things in lives. Whether they are physical storms, or emotional ones – our children are watching us.

Someday, may they look back as they face something similar, and say, “Thank you, mom.” And may they face whatever it is with wonder, not fear.