I learn so much from being a mother. I learn how to multi-task better. I learn why my mother did and said certain things, a certain way. I learn how to love, really love, unconditionally. I learn how to apply Neo-Sporin and bandaids with oh-so-much care. I learn how to make and cut sandwiches just right. My children have taught me these things, and I am glad I have learned.
But sometimes, the lessons I learn are so humbling that there really are no words to express how deeply I have been touched. I have written before about a mercy lesson I learned from my daughter and just last week, she has taught me again, a different lesson and one from which we could all benefit.
A week or so ago, a teacher in the children’s department at church came to me after services and told me that she wanted to tell me something that she overheard M saying. She had seen M standing outside of her Sunday school class alone. This teacher, wondering what was going on, was about to ask M if she needed something when another girl in M’s class was returning from the water fountain and asked M why she was outside. The teacher overheard M give this answer to the other girl: “Well, some of the kids in there are gossiping, and I thought I should just come outside and wait for them to be finished.” The other young lady asked her what they were gossiping about and M replied, “Just school kids gossiping about school stuff, I guess. It’s just something I don’t think I should listen to.” Later that evening, I asked her about the incident, and she replied, “Well, I know it’s not right to gossip about others behind their backs, so I figured it probably wasn’t right to listen to it either.”
There really are very few words that would express what my heart felt when this teacher related this episode to me. First, I was overwhelmed with emotion at the sincerity and honesty of my daughter. I was overcome with gratefulness that God has blessed me with such a sensitive, compassionate, yet strong, young lady. I was proud beyond what my heart could contain.
And second, I was humbled. I was humbled because M’s example reminded me that it’s one thing to KNOW the right thing to do, and it’s another to actually DO the right thing. I have known for years that a person’s tongue must be tamed… that gossip is hurtful and wrong. But I have not always put that knowledge into practice. My daughter did something with ease that I, many times, have had to muster the courage to attempt. How many times have I thought about leaving a conversation only to worry about what the others would think? Or worse, how many times have I contributed to such a conversation? And yet, my 11 year old daughter walked away with no concern for what others might say, do, or think about her. She walked away without making a big production, without drawing attention to herself, and without throwing accusations and judgments over her shoulder on the way out the door.
And so I am again learning a lesson about life, about character, about how to be more like Jesus, and I will take this, another lesson from her, and I will learn it. And I will thank God for her willingness to DO what she KNOWS is right.
Choosing Life 
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