Thoughts for Thursday - Teachable Moments

My 6 year old baby girl daughter is in Kindergarten. She is enjoying her first year riding the bus home from school and feels like such a big girl.
This is her holding her first tooth she lost about a month ago in her keepsake tooth fairy box:
The bus driver is an older man, so sweet, loves kids, and I feel very good about letting her ride the bus in the afternoons. For the most part, we have had no problems with the older kids on the bus. One time she did have an older girl squeeze her arm, but I told her not to sit w/ her anymore, and it has been all good since then.

However, she came yesterday, and as she was eating her snack, she casually mentioned the older girls behind her on the bus were telling scary stories about a bathroom. She didn't seem too upset, I reassured her they were not true, etc. and we went about our day.

Then, last night as I am snuggling down in my nest bed, ready to drift off to never never land, Gracie comes in my room. Very unlike her, once she is out, she is out for the night. She told me she was scared because she woke up thinking about those scary stories she had heard on the bus the day before. I comforted her once again, reassured her they were not true stories, tucked her back in, and called in Daddy to lay with her till she fell back asleep.

What did I want to do when she told me that?
I wanted to (and I did offer) to start picking her up from school, and never let her ride that big bad bus again! ;) I think, to an extent, we all would like to keep our kids in a protective little bubble and shield them from all the bad things in the world. But as we all know, that is not a realistic option.

So what is the wise thing to do?
Well, here's how I see it. God has given me these precious gifts called children. As a friend of mine @ MOPS said the other day, you really only have 18 summers, 18 Falls, 18 springs, and 18 winters...that these little gifts will be close by under your wing...under your roof. It is our God-given responsibility to train them, to teach them, and to guide them. It is my job to equip her for the world. I can't protect her forever and I won't always be there to comfort her. I need to teach her to be discerning about what she listens to and hears, and as she gets older, to go to the true source of comfort, God.

So, the 2nd time she came back to my room (before I sent Daddy in), I said a little prayer with her. I want her to know when she is afraid, and I am not there,she has a Heavenly Father she can talk to. While she was not instantly at peace, I hope that I was able to make it a "teachable moment", and that I can remember to do that more often.

It's kind scary when you have to send them off to new places for the first time, and when you realize they are no longer by your side and "under your wing" at all times. I have to remind myself to man Mommy up, lovingly equip these babies for the world, and that I won't always be able to shelter them.

Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

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P.P.S. I am taking a little poll here. I thought it might be fun to start a "Saturday Swap Meet". Once a month, on a Saturday, you would have the opportunity to swap your handmade products, or your company's products, with other bloggers. It would need to be an even exchange dollar-wise.
Benefits:
1. Inexpensive way to shop! If you retail your product for $10, it costs you only $5 to make it, and you are swapping it for a $10 product, you are saving $!
2. Promote your business even more!
3. Support other Entrepreneurs!
4. Have fun!
5. Shop online w/o really spending any money! ;)

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