ADVICE DAD NEVER GAVE YOU

Ralph Sorter

   It was near Christmas time in northern Utah.  We were in our first ministry and lived in a mobile home out in the middle of a pasture.  (Young preachers fresh out of Bible College can’t complain about housing, especially when you’re planting a new church.)  We had a small metal shed attached to the back for a shop.  It was cold in that area at the base of the Uintah Mountains.  My son, Kevin, was just 2 years old and wanted to be in the shop with me while I was working on a Christmas present.  Gloria bundled him up from head to toe in a one-piece bunny suit, gloves and boots.  I gave him tools to work with as he sat on the bench watching and imitating my work.

   The next evening he was playing in the middle of the living room with the wooden cobbler bench – a bench with dowels and a little hammer.  He was pounding the pegs and then would hit his hand and then say something.  He was at the age that if you asked him to repeat what he said, he wouldn’t repeat it.  But I wanted to know what he was saying, so I crawled up behind him to listen.  As he hit his hand he was saying, “Doggy on it!  Doggy on it!”  I laughed as I remembered I had hit my finger with the hammer the day before.  It’s like me to say, “Dog gone it that hurts!” when something like that happens.

   Precious memories, but a very big lesson was learned.  Children may close their ears to advice, but they open their eyes to your example.

   A parent can preach to their children ‘till they’re blue in the face, and they will still do the opposite.  But you step out of line just once, and they will remember it for a lifetime, and use it to validate their actions.

   So what do you take with you from this little lesson?  Watch what you say, and remember there’s always a pair of eyes watching your example…whether it’s the example you want them to retain or not!

A Message from HOPE’S

Marriage & Family Ministry

ADVICE DAD NEVER GAVE YOU

Ralph Sorter

   It was near Christmas time in northern Utah.  We were in our first ministry and lived in a mobile home out in the middle of a pasture.  (Young preachers fresh out of Bible College can’t complain about housing, especially when you’re planting a new church.)  We had a small metal shed attached to the back for a shop.  It was cold in that area at the base of the Uintah Mountains.  My son, Kevin, was just 2 years old and wanted to be in the shop with me while I was working on a Christmas present.  Gloria bundled him up from head to toe in a one-piece bunny suit, gloves and boots.  I gave him tools to work with as he sat on the bench watching and imitating my work.

   The next evening he was playing in the middle of the living room with the wooden cobbler bench – a bench with dowels and a little hammer.  He was pounding the pegs and then would hit his hand and then say something.  He was at the age that if you asked him to repeat what he said, he wouldn’t repeat it.  But I wanted to know what he was saying, so I crawled up behind him to listen.  As he hit his hand he was saying, “Doggy on it!  Doggy on it!”  I laughed as I remembered I had hit my finger with the hammer the day before.  It’s like me to say, “Dog gone it that hurts!” when something like that happens.

   Precious memories, but a very big lesson was learned.  Children may close their ears to advice, but they open their eyes to your example.

   A parent can preach to their children ‘till they’re blue in the face, and they will still do the opposite.  But you step out of line just once, and they will remember it for a lifetime, and use it to validate their actions.

   So what do you take with you from this little lesson?  Watch what you say, and remember there’s always a pair of eyes watching your example…whether it’s the example you want them to retain or not!

A Message from HOPE’S

Marriage & Family Ministry

ADVICE DAD NEVER GAVE YOU

Ralph Sorter

   It was near Christmas time in northern Utah.  We were in our first ministry and lived in a mobile home out in the middle of a pasture.  (Young preachers fresh out of Bible College can’t complain about housing, especially when you’re planting a new church.)  We had a small metal shed attached to the back for a shop.  It was cold in that area at the base of the Uintah Mountains.  My son, Kevin, was just 2 years old and wanted to be in the shop with me while I was working on a Christmas present.  Gloria bundled him up from head to toe in a one-piece bunny suit, gloves and boots.  I gave him tools to work with as he sat on the bench watching and imitating my work.

   The next evening he was playing in the middle of the living room with the wooden cobbler bench – a bench with dowels and a little hammer.  He was pounding the pegs and then would hit his hand and then say something.  He was at the age that if you asked him to repeat what he said, he wouldn’t repeat it.  But I wanted to know what he was saying, so I crawled up behind him to listen.  As he hit his hand he was saying, “Doggy on it!  Doggy on it!”  I laughed as I remembered I had hit my finger with the hammer the day before.  It’s like me to say, “Dog gone it that hurts!” when something like that happens.

   Precious memories, but a very big lesson was learned.  Children may close their ears to advice, but they open their eyes to your example.

   A parent can preach to their children ‘till they’re blue in the face, and they will still do the opposite.  But you step out of line just once, and they will remember it for a lifetime, and use it to validate their actions.

   So what do you take with you from this little lesson?  Watch what you say, and remember there’s always a pair of eyes watching your example…whether it’s the example you want them to retain or not!

A Message from HOPE’S

Marriage & Family Ministry