2min of your time:
My daughter and I were getting ready for a late-night run to our favorite convenient store (Kwik Trip). It was dark and cold. The type of cold that when the vehicle gets turned on the button for the heated seats gets switched on too. It’s about survival.

The moment after I started the vehicle, I put on my heated seat and then fastened my seatbelt. Shortly after leaving the driveway Jordan asks, “babba…how do I know if my seat is on?” I told her that the button on the right side of her seat (just below her hip) needs to be flipped up.

I thought that was simple enough directions, but evidently it wasn’t. She responded by telling me the switch doesn’t go up and that it goes to the side. I told her she’s wrong. “The button goes up and down. When the button is in the middle that means it’s off.” She still didn’t understand. Now I didn’t understand. I wondered how we could be halfway to the Kwik Trip and I still couldn’t get my oldest child to understand how a button works?

My bewilderment turned into frustration. I was frustrated with myself…in all honesty frustrated with her and frustrated with the whole situation. “It’s not that difficult,” I thought. I was literally laughing as I was trying to contemplate how my college educated high school senior couldn’t understand how to work her heated seat. I was brought to the point of thinking maybe her button is different than mine and maybe that’s the problem. Nope!

I gave up.

A few minutes later (as we made our way out of the Kwik Trip) I decided to open her door…which I generally try to do. I then took a moment to show her how the button worked. She understood in an instant.

Driving back home I was reminded of how limited words can be, especially to a visual person. It didn’t matter what I said, she wasn’t going to understand until I showed her. As parents, we need to let that reality speak to us. How different would we parent if our kids only understood what we showed them? We talk to them about respect. We tell them about love. We speak about Jesus. We mention at times the word forgiveness and how to be a good sport. But do we show them this stuff in action?

It’s not that difficult…right?