Training....

As fathers we sometimes have expectations of where our kids need to be at a certain age, whether it is based on what we were doing at their age, or what other kids their age are doing now. If you are not careful the latter can quickly turn into an unhealthy competition and place unnecessary pressure on your kids. I fell into that a short while back when Jacob turned a year older and I felt that he should have already learned to ride his bike without his training wheels. Of course I ignored the fact that I was inconsistent on practicing with him often and I was not setting a good example for him to learn. God taught me a good lesson through that.

God taught me by His example that consistency, compassion and patience goes a lot farther than unnecessary pressure and ungrounded expectations. God is persistent in His pursuit of us, He has compassion because He died for us and He is so patient because He knows we will make mistakes. He is so faithful to forgive.

Jacob is now riding his bike without training wheels and he has a proud father that has learned to meet his son where he is. Not waiting impatiently at the finish line for him to arrive.

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6