Monday Morning Manna: Refliections on Impression Making

My little girl had a birthday last week. Birthdays are good for reflections, and I did a few. Not fully understanding the blessings and challenges of raising a daughter, I had asked God for one, and God agreed. One of my favorite memories was when she was four years old. The back story is that her Daddy was a huge Willie Nelson fan, being the only Seminary professor with a personalized, autographed picture of Willie in his office. So, Willie was frequently heard around our house and in our car. On a Sunday afternoon, I received a phone call from a rather irate woman who asked, “What are you teaching your daughter at home?” Before I could answer, I heard the rest of the story. Seems at Sunday School that morning, this teacher had asked the children for their favorite song to sing, whereupon, my daughter replied, “Whiskey River, Take My Mind” – not exactly a Sunday School song! The point of my remembrance, and today’s Manna warning, is that you never know what impressions you are making on your children. The real “rest of the story” is that we survived. She is still a Willie Nelson fan, as well as a wonderful mother to my grandchildren and grandmother to my great-grandson, and I am as proud of her today as I was when she was four. “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all” (Proverbs 31:29).

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.