Lessons My Daughter Taught Me

By Kim Chaffin–

My daughter has always had a tender side; sometimes it was hidden under her daring personality, but I always knew it was there. As a child, she collected bugs and was often covered with dirt, but deep inside was a very wise, sensitive soul. When she was a very young girl she taught me three important lessons that I want to share with you.

Give with an open heart and never expect anything in return.

fall scents for your home

From about the age of six, my daughter wanted to help people. She asked if she could use her allowance to buy supplies to make cards to sell and give the money to the food bank. For a little thing, she blew my mind. She would turn in $100 at a time. That led to lemonade stands for the food bank and for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. She started taking orders for cards and put them in a craft show. Her dad and I told her we would match what she raised and we often found ourselves writing checks for more than $100.

For Christmas, she asked to choose animals from the World Vision catalog to help families in need instead of getting so many gifts herself. Next she asked, “Can I take my own money and buy more things in the catalog to give for Christmas?”  She taught me you can always make a difference and about the joy of giving without expecting anything in return.

Everyone has a gift.

Find yours and, remember, if you don’t use it, you’ll make God sad.

Years ago I spent many days with a friend who was battling cancer. One Sunday evening I was sitting on my front porch, tired and crying from the sadness in my heart. I felt guilty that we didn’t even have milk in the house for breakfast. I was feeling like a bad mom for not being there with my kids. My beautiful girl had just taken a bath and was in her pajamas doing cartwheels in the yard. When she saw me crying, she asked what was wrong. I told her I was sad for my friend and that I felt bad that I was not taking care of my family like I should.

What happened next would impact me forever. She put her soft little hands on my face and said, “I went to Sunday school today and you know what I learned? I learned that God gives us all gifts. Each one of us has something different and if we don’t use the gift that God gave us, we make Him sad.” She put her arms around me and said, “Your gift is taking care of people and you need to do it or you’ll make God sad.” I am teary just thinking about those sweet words. Next she said, “Don’t worry about us, Mommy. We are going to be okay, you need to be with them.” She was right we all have gifts and we need to use them to make a difference in this world.

Listen with your heart

One morning while getting ready for school my daughter yelled down the hall, “Mom, is there a book in the Bible called Ephesians?” I told her, yes, and she asked me to look up Ephesians 6 starting at verse 10 and read it to her. It describes the armor of God. I was curious about why she asked me to read it. She told me that she was standing in her closet trying to choose what to wear and she couldn’t make up her mind, so God told her to put on His armor.

I must have looked like a deer in headlights as she told me about how God had spoken to her heart. She was so matter of fact about it. That day she taught me to always listen with my heart so that I wouldn’t miss those special moments when God was speaking to me.

These are three powerful lessons from the wisdom of a child: Give without expecting anything in return, use your gifts, and listen when God speaks to you.

 

Kim is the creator of Heartfelt Ramblings of a Midlife Domestic Goddess and is also a monthly contributor for the Whatever Girls Ministry.

Websites: www.heartfeltramblings.com and www.thewhatevergirls.com

3 thoughts on “Lessons My Daughter Taught Me”

  1. Pingback: Lessons My Daughter Taught Me | Heartfelt Ramblings

  2. I love this article Kim! It’s really timely with Mother’s Day right around the corner, as moms – our kids are often our best teachers in life. My own daughter has taught me a lot about myself, good and bad, that has allowed me to become a better person.

    Carol Doyel

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Lessons My Daughter Taught Me
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