I know without a doubt there are defining moments in my life when God is purposely trying to show me my faults. I know He does this because as a mom my errors have a huge impact on my children. This example is like a waving red flag in my mind. It is a living picture that reminds me of how easily I can discourage my children with my off-handed remarks.
I am a busy mom and I tend to think outside my head. So one day, a package that my girls had anxiously been waiting for came in the mail. In it were two matching flower girl dresses. My sister was getting married and my children were in the wedding – big excitement. My sister had had the girls dresses made and sent to us. My son’s little velvet suit I had purchased.
We tore open the box and ran upstairs to try them on… With only two weeks to the wedding I went into checklist mode, oblivious to my children’s joy. Totally focused on the girls, helping the youngest dress, marking hemlines, ooing and ahhing, I didn’t hear my son come in until I looked up and he was right in front of me. He had, all by himself at the age of three, pulled his outfit out of his little armoire and put it on. I turned him around in front of me, “Fits you perfectly, Marky,” and then the mental note to myself spoke outloud, “but you need a haircut.” And I turned away from my little son to find my girls shoes because the mental checklist in my mind had moved on.
Not three minutes later, we had found the girls shoes and were in the process of getting them on, when my daughter gasped. I looked up to find my precious little boy with a chunk of blonde hair missing from the middle of his forehead. He looked at me with his big, brown eyes searching for approval…I am not exaggerating I am tearing up right now thinking of his face. It still hurts. I had discouraged him with my words. His every desire was to please me and I had crushed his spirit. He had struggled to get that suit on to win my praise as I was praising his sisters and all I said was you need a haircut.
The red flag that waves in my mind when I think of this story whispers to me little careless words create deep painful hurts. My reckless words can pierce like a sword, my gracious words can promote instruction and encourage.
