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 had been placed on the number of people who could enter the store and how far they could stand from each other. And it was the first store my kids had been to in a while! 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 my kids 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 my kids ran around the stores and didn’t listen or follow directions. And they were also upset that I was upset and also that they had made those earlier choices to misbehave. They weren’t wanting to receive my speech as I drove. 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 wasn’t 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 hadn’t 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