Whoever
digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
—Psalm
7:15-16 NIV
While visiting her parents for the holidays, Kim was driving around her hometown with her mother in the front seat and her two children in the back. Frustration grew as her mom played the side-seat driver, sucking in air between her teeth when she thought Kim was about to pull out in front of an oncoming vehicle.
In reality, Kim had grown competent
at driving in a big city, where a single hesitation often meant a long,
unnecessary wait. Resentment began to simmer. When her mother asked her to make a quick stop at a friend’s
house to drop something off, Kim pulled in front of the house on the left side
of a two-way street.
“You can’t park like this.”
Her mother’s admonishment was the last
straw.
“Mom. I don’t care!”
Her mother jumped out of the car to drop the
item into her friend’s mailbox, declaring that she wouldn’t pay the fine if Kim
got a ticket.
No ticket was forthcoming, but within twenty-four hours, both of Kim’s
children—at separate times—repeated the words she’d thrown at her own mother,
right down to the exact hand gestures: “Mom, I don’t care!”
Fortunately, Kim had the self-awareness required
to see herself reflected in her children’s words. If they weren’t allowed to
speak to their mother that way, why was she? Her mother received—and offered—an
apology the following day, and lessons were learned by all.
Questions for Reflection: How quick am I to recognize when I’ve fallen into a pit of my own digging? How quick am I to be a "side-seat driver?"
No comments:
Post a Comment