"Oh, my word, I could HUG YOU!" I said to my friend Angie when she brought me a Coke in the hospital after I'd had my son. I'd had this insatiable craving for soda, and once I had delivered, I was so ready to have an ice cold bubbly Coke.Well, guess what a nursing mother should most certainly NOT drink, unless she wants her newborn to get all hopped up on caffeine? Let's just say that Night Two of my son's life was a little rough.
It didn't even occur to me that what I was guzzling down was going to affect my child. And that it wasn't gonna be pretty.
When one of my children was still quite young, I used to watch old episodes of "Friends," without concern that they would pick up on anything. At that young age, surely everything would go right over their heads, right? Nope. My child heard--and learned--an unsavory word (a word my husband and I do not say, thank you, Joey and Rachel), and then proceeded to say this unsavory word at a birthday party with a lot of my husband's co-workers within earshot. Good times.
What I was taking in was affecting my children more than I realized.
But then just yesterday as we were driving, I overheard my child singing quietly in the back of the car, "My one defense, my righteousness--Oh God, how I need You." I didn't set out for my child to necessarily learn that song, but it's been what I've been listening to the car.
And what I was taking in was affecting my children more than I realized.
The conversations we have.
The shows we watch.
The music we play.
The things we read.
The places we go.
The things we do.
What we say/watch/hear/read/do will affect our children more than we realize. Maybe they're right there alongside us, seeing and hearing as we see and hear. But even if they aren't right there, the things we take in will either tender or harden us--and our sons and daughters will most certainly be affected by the overflow of our hearts.
* When you think about your children being affected by what you take in, does that make you happy...or concerned?
Great post! I am well aware that my kids are watching my every move and listening in, even when neither of us even realize it. I think we all need to be careful of the influences we're allowing into our children's lives!
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