Those who have been reading Preaching for a number of years know that I am a 48-year-old father of two little boys, ages 7 and 3. (Just call me a “late bloomer.”) So for the last couple of years, as my old seminary buddies were putting their kids in college, I’ve been putting mine in diapers.<\/p>\n
There’s nothing that teaches humility better than parenthood. For so many years I was a brilliant leader of family-life conferences; my insights into parenthood were beyond reproach. Then I had two of my own, and I realized what all those parents must have been thinking while I was “teaching” them. (Actually, they were probably thinking this was a good time for a nap, since somebody was taking care of their kids in another room!)<\/p>\n
Now that I’ve been a Dad for a few years, I’m beginning to gain a modest understanding of the mysterious and exhausting role of parent. For example, I’ve learned that no matter how many logical, rational explanations I offer for not spilling grape juice on the carpet, the primary response will be, “Can we get a dog now?” I’ve learned that seven-year-olds are astute critics of bed-time stories. (“Only two laughs in that one, Dad. Try to do better tomorrow night.”) And I’ve discovered that good babysitters are worth their weight in Pampers.<\/p>\n
I’ve learned that three-year-olds desperately want whatever sandwich you don’t have ready, until you get it ready, at which time they no longer want it. (Three-year-olds are a lot like deacons in that regard.) I’ve discovered that unbreakable toys are excellent tools for breaking other toys. I recently found out that the Rugrats and Barney do not get along. And who can blame them?<\/p>\n
When we were expecting our first child, a friend told me that my personal productivity would go down 20 percent with the first child, and an additional 10 percent for each additional child. He was underestimating.<\/p>\n
I now know that the best definition of a boy is a noise with dirt on it. I’ve been reminded that seven-year-old boys think girls have “cooties,” and three-year-old boys think any kissing on TV is “yuck!” (OK, that’s a stage I’m willing to hold onto for awhile.)<\/p>\n
I’ve discovered that kids’ jokes haven’t gotten any better in the last 45 years. (Knock-Knock. Who’s there? Cowsgo. Cowsgo who? No they don’t – cows go moo!) Well, some of them are a little better. (What did the snail say when it rode on a turtle’s back? Wheeeeee!!)<\/p>\n
I read recently that having children is like installing a bowling alley in your brain. And I’ve learned that if I have any problem getting their attention, all I have to do is sit down and appear to be comfortable.<\/p>\n
Yet every night before bed, as I peek into their rooms and watch them sleep, I can’t help but ask myself, “How does such a small creature make such a big mess?”<\/p>\n
Still, I’ve got to be nice to them. One of these days they’ll be choosing my nursing home.<\/p>\n
_______________<\/p>\n
Michael Duduit is the Editor of Preaching magazine.<\/p>\n
Those who have been reading Preaching for a number of years know that I am a 48-year-old father of two little boys, ages 7 and 3. (Just call me a “late bloomer.”) So for the last couple of years, as my old seminary buddies were putting their kids in college, I’ve been putting mine in … Continue reading “The Perils Of Parenthood”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35159\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}