Batman and Robin Attend Church
“Hey Kids! Get dressed for church,” I barked from the kitchen.
A fairly straight-forward request. They scrambled to their rooms.
And a few minutes later, they emerged looking like this…
Batman and Robin Attend Church
Note, it was March. Not Halloween.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, how adorable.”
And that’s what I SHOULD have been thinking.
But I was not.
I was thinking, “What in the world are these kids doing? They cannot go outside in public like this.”
I began to make a mental list of all the reasons why:
- It’s too cold to go out like that!
- That doesn’t even match!
- Was not Edna clear in The Incredibles how dangerous capes are!
But then I realized something.
My concern was not really for my kids.
I was thinking about myself.
How will the other people think when I show up with my kids like this?
How will I be perceived?
How will I be affected or inconvenienced?
Kids instinctively know when your actions are there to help THEM and when your actions are really just about you.
Are they misbehaving? Or just interrupting your ball game?
Are they doing things wrong? Or just not doing things the way YOU would?
Obviously, certain things I must shut down for their safety or their own good.
If my kids want to play with the chainsaw, well, I have to say a firm “NO.”
But this certainly wasn’t that.
This was me focusing on what I wanted.
And if I’m honest, way too often I care too much about the wrong things.
So may this be a reminder to all of us…
Let’s try to keep the main thing, the main thing.
