Mimicking Me
Some people think it’s cute that little kids are just like their parents. I used to think like that until my little girl started talking just like I do. It is not cute at all. In fact, it is very sad and disheartening to hear what I sound like to others. It is not new news to me that I am not the person with the most kind and gentle speech or the most patient and polite requests, but I did not understand at all to what degree I assault the ears of those who must listen to me complain and boss others around! I hear the tone of my very sweet 2-1/2 year-old daughter and am disgusted as well as convicted about how I talk to her and everyone else around me. The words themselves could use some refining, but the real issue is the delivery.
I feel like such a hypocrite when I make Eila use kind words to talk to Josiah and to request something, since she is simply doing what I do… Yet, I know that she has to be taught how to interact with others and how to love and be kind. The best way for her to learn is to watch, so I have to relearn and pray for God to unteach her everything that I have inadvertently modeled for her in my attitude and actions, but especially in my speech.