When my kids were seven and nine, I was worried about their picky eating and came up with a plan to help them try new foods: every week, they were responsible for going through our recipe books, picking out one meal each that they thought sounded good, then being the head cook for that meal during the week.
The plan meant setting aside time to help them read through cookbooks.
And it meant longer trips to the store. (And a messier kitchen on the nights they cooked!)
But it also meant finding some dinners that they really liked. And that they probably wouldn’t have tried so cheerfully if they weren’t the ones who’d picked them out and cooked them.
One morning, a little while after we started doing this, we all went to Starbucks.
We brought a couple of cookbooks with us because we were heading to the grocery store afterwards and needed to pick out what we were going to make that week.
My kids flipped through the pages, looking at the pictures, asking questions, and deciding…
and deciding…
and deciding…
until finally, they made their choices.
“Good job,” I said, “These are going to be tasty!” I tried to sound excited as I marked the pages and groaned inside at the long list of ingredients. (Even though the new plan was helping to expand my kids’ tastes, it was turning out to be a lot of work.)
And that’s when the woman at the table next to us stood up and came over.
She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned down.
“You’re a good mom,” she said.
I smiled, confused. “Thanks.”
“Is this something you do all the time, with the cookbooks?”
I didn’t know she’d heard us.
I explained to her what we’d started with the meals.
“I think that’s great,” she said. Then again, “You’re a good mom.”
I could barely respond.
Honestly, I felt like I might start crying.
Her compliment meant a lot to me.
Because it was affirmation that sometimes the more time-consuming or inconvenient choice for us as moms is the best choice for our kids.
And because, just as I was wondering if all the effort was worth it, I needed to be reminded that it is.
Sometimes, all it takes is the encouragement of someone else to help us through the challenges that we sometimes face in motherhood. So if you know someone who could use a few uplifting words right now, or if you pass a mom today, take a minute to reach out and give some love.
It can make all the difference.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
What about you? Has the encouragement of another helped you in a challenging time? Or have you been able to be the one doing the encouraging? Take a minute to share!
-Written by Genny Heikka at http://www.gennyheikka.com.
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