Partners in Parenting

“Communication These Days - ugh!”

My kids know better than to send me a text message while we are both at home.  I have warned them: If I get a text from you, while we are at home, I will come running to find you.  I promise!  However, you better hope I don’t find you because I will take your texting device away for a while until you learn to communicate face to face with me!  I have not gotten a text from them while we’ve all been home again.

Well, not exactly…

The other day, I walked into my bedroom to put some folded laundry away.  Our family was in the process of cleaning house.  I walked right into our vacuum that one of my children placed just inside my bedroom doorway.  (Now parents, is it just me, or isn’t this the same as sending me a text message while we are both in the house???  - See picture!)  Since all three of my children were cleaning, I wasn’t sure who wrote this message instead of coming to see me.  Ah, there were so many clues.  Take a look:

• Only one child calls me Daddy
• The letter i in fix has a circle for a dot – very artsy!
• Vacuum is spelled wrong
• No excuses, just the simple request – “pointer,” not a “painter”
• Exclamation mark has a large dot at the bottom
• Does that look like a boy’s or girl’s handwriting?

Every indication I have is that Alaina wrote this note.  She is the child of mine most likely to ever use a vacuum to begin with, so I was pretty confident in my assessment.  I had to laugh to myself – here is a text message written on paper.  Why not talk to me?

I imagine God could be asking me that same question – Why not talk to me?  Why don’t I talk to Him more often like He is standing right beside me – and He really is!!  Why do I formalize all my prayers instead of just talking to him naturally?  Why don’t I share my joys and frustrations with him like I do my friends?  Hmm.  I was reminded that I’m supposed to talk to him even though I live in this text messaging world. 

“…pray continually…” I Thessalonians 5:17

Family Discussion Points!

Commit to talking with your children about their day at school each day this week.

Ask open ended questions to your kids about how their feel or what they think about a particular issue.  Then listen.

Talk about what bad communication does to a family!