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Some Life Lessons from the Boys by Greg Williamson (c) 2006
God has blessed me with a marvelous (= loving, patient, understanding, and supportive) wife and, Lord willing, this December we will celebrate our thirteenth wedding anniversary. God has blessed us both with two incredible little boys named Timothy and Daniel. Timothy is five-and-a-half years old, and Daniel will be three in a few weeks. God is using both of them to reinforce some of the myriad of invaluable truths found in (as someone has put it) the Basic Instructions for Believers Living on Earth (= BIBLE). To share just a few ... Be grateful for even the smallest blessing. Occasionally Daniel will find a penny, and when he does you would think he was the parabolic father rejoicing at the return of his prodigal son. He even prefers a penny to a nickel -- or at least he did until we ruined his perspective by informing him that a nickel is the equivalent of five pennies. So often I find myself taking the "little" things for granted. You know, things like good health; a job that pays the bills; a good place to live (= warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and dry when it's raining); and many others. Not to mention the "bigger" blessings like my salvation; a family that loves me (I call them my "fam club"); lots of excellent Bible study tools; a church family; and many others.
Expect progress, not perfection. Recently Timothy has had a number of meltdowns. It sometimes happens when Sharon (who stays home with the boys) is out with he and Daniel, at which point she has two options: either 1) drag Timothy, kicking and screaming (Timothy, that is, not Sharon!), to the car, or 2) hold him and console him until it passes. She prefers the latter option. I will admit -- "confess" is more accurate -- that I sometimes find myself getting very angry with Timothy or Daniel, particularly when they are doing something they have been told several times not to do. And many are the times I have expressed my anger by yelling at them. But God is working on me -- usually through Sharon! -- and I am making progress. Both Timothy and I are praying that God will help us work through our "anger issues" in a way that honors him, which at the very least means being nice to people instead of mean or rude.
Stay busy. Both Timothy and Daniel have incredible imaginations. To date they have enjoyed a number of brief but extremely eventful careers, including (but not limited to):
(We're still working on "scholars" and "theologians.") I received Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior nearly twenty years ago. From then until now God has blessed me with an insatiable appetite for his Word. While full-time ministry remains an elusive dream, nonetheless I remain very busy with Bible study, work, family, and church.
Don't take life too seriously. I am thankful that when Timothy or Daniel suffer an inevitable disappointment, it usually doesn't take long until their attitude changes to one of "Oh, well, what can I do now?" And many times on any given day our little apartment is filled with riotous, contagious laughter. I am known for my "dry" whit. If I'm not careful, however, I can easily allow life's challenges to leave me feeling overwhelmed and even a bit discouraged. Fortunately, Timothy and Daniel are there to help me get through it -- sometimes with a little prompting from my alternate identity as the "tickle monster."
Love means thinking of the other guy (or gal). Recently Sharon was away for the evening and the boys and I got a pizza for dinner. At one point Daniel asked if Mommy was going to have some. I explained that there probably would not be any left over. A little while later Daniel said he did not want any more pizza because he wanted to save some for Mommy. This is an especially crucial lesson in light of our self-absorbed, entertainment-driven, hedonistic society's constant message that "It's all about me." The path to true contentment, however, begins with Jesus first, then Others second, and Yourself last (= JOY).
Tell people how much they mean to you. It only takes six little words from Timothy and/or Daniel to brighten up my entire day: "I love you very much, Daddy." And when combined with a hug -- man, there's nothing better. Too often I fail in this area. However, as a step in the right direction, let me leave you with these words from those two great theologians Bob (the tomato) and Larry (the cucumber): "God made you special, and he loves you very much!"
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