Joel M Bradshaw

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.—Proverbs 9

I recall this memory from the days of COVID quarantine. I had cracked my cellphone screen and was going to get it replaced. Limitations were placed on who could enter the store and how far people could stand from each other. And it was the first store my kids had been to in awhile! The wanted to run and play and be kids, but the rest of us were stressed.

It had been a stressful day where we had to run errands, and they hadn’t done a good job of listening and obeying in those stores. And as we were driving home, i gave the kids one of those daddy lectures which i selfishly thought they needed. But God had other plans.

You see, I remember in my frustration reliving those moments from that day where they ran around the stores and didnt listen or follow directions. And they were upset that they had made those choices to misbehave and they werent wanting to receive my talk. I’ll never forget in that back and forth actually saying these words: “Life is so much easier if you just listen to Daddy.”

Then it hit me. I wasnt just talking to my kids, but also to myself. The verse from Proverbs 9 came to mind. How is my walk with God? How are my choices? Am I showing that I listen and obey His Word? Or do I ignore it and keep ‘running around those stores?’

My argument with my kids centered around the fact that Daddy is Daddy and they are not Daddy. Children are to obey their parents. Wisdom comes from such a relationship. And therein was the moment where it hit me with my own life. God is God and I am not. My choices in life had at times revealed that I hadnt respected that truth.

The rest of the car ride consisted of Daddy asking forgiveness for getting so angry and the kids asking forgiveness for not listening to Daddy. (And Daddy quietly thanking God for His patience with me.) I think we also got some drive-thru chocolate milkshakes.–JMB