Have you ever tried to run errands with a cranky two-year old?
Richard Foster once told the story of a friend whose little tyke was growing increasingly cantankerous as the afternoon wore on. The father tried everything to soothe the child, or at least distract him, long enough to get the shopping done.
Then, in desperation, the father scooped up his son, held him close to his chest, and began singing a love song. Not one from the radio. This love song was made up on the spot. None of the words rhymed. He sang off key.
The words spilled out: “I love you…. I’m so glad you’re my boy…. You make me happy…. I like the way you laugh.”
As the father completed his errands, he continued singing off key and making up words that did not rhyme. “The child relaxed,” Foster wrote, “He became still, listening to this strange and wonderful song.”
Once the shopping was done, they went to the car. As the father opened the door and prepared to buckle his son into the car seat, the child lifted his head and said, “Sing it to me again, Daddy! Sing it to me again!”
What “song” is your child hearing from you? In Colossians 3:21, Paul wrote, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they won’t become discouraged.” Moms need the warning, too, of course. But the fact that Paul singled out dads in this verse lets us know the powerful impact a father has on a child’s self-regard.
We discussed this in last week’s message. If you need to review it or join the study for the first time, watch here.
Tom
The story of the impromptu love song comes from pages 3-4 of Richard Foster’s book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. The audiobook is currently on sale for $6.
Sign up here to receive Tom Goodman’s weekly devotional in your email inbox. Tom serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.