My favorite line in the entire song is "Families never crumble in a day." Isn't that the truth? It's a comibination of choice after choice or lie after lie or broken promise after broken promise that crumbles families. It does not happen in a day. When you are a husband, wife, father or mother every single choice you make affects everyone else in your family. Maybe a husband/father thinks it's okay to look as long as he doesn't touch. Guess what? Eventually he is going to want to touch. Maybe a wife/mother feels like her husband doensn't find her attractive anymore so she seeks attention elsewhere but justifies it by saying it's harmless. Guess what? That attention will eventually lead to some type of affair, whether it be emotional or sexual. I am not only talking about being faithful. How do we treat others? How do we process conflict? What we do with our money, time, and attention (priorities)? All of these things ARE important and our children are watching, whether we want them to or not.
I am by no means a perfect mother. I often slip with my language or my patience in front of my kids. But when I do wrong I don't pretend like it didn't happen. I apologize to Garrison and tell him my actions were wrong. I think it's okay for our kids to know that we make mistakes. I think it's okay for them to see us cry sometimes so they are not afraid to show emotion. I think it's okay for them to hear us have an occasional disagreement with our spouse (yes, occasional and yes, disagreement - not screaming match).
I have shared before how funny I think it is that Garrison picks up on song lyrics so quickly. Last night he came into the kitchen singing. He wasn't singing about motor boatin' this time. He was singing a Christian song. I can't for the life of me remember which one it was but it was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. It never even occurred to me that when I have the Christian station on in my car Garrison would really be taking in all of those lyrics but he is! I am still a fan of letting Garrison appreciate all (or most) types of music genres so I guess it's a healthy balance for him. After all, "Country Girl" is one of his favorites too. (Haha!)
Our children are constantly watching us. That doesn't mean we have to be perfect. It just means we have to be aware that our actions have a huge part in molding them into the people they will become. Constant justification of our choices can be crippling to our marriage and our family. The bottom line is that every choice we make affects our spouse and affects our children. Don't allow yourself to slowly fade. God wants so much more for you and from you.
Jewels*
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