What did I do to deserve all this?

Parental Legacy Tip #3

Those of you that are not parents, or never had parents, please bear with us as I throw in these parental legacy tips from time to time.

Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate
Psalms 127:3-5

When I go out for a run in the mornings, I will usually take my phone along with me. Sometimes I am on call and the children might have an emergency. Today, Diane and I headed to the park to get in a little exercise. Halfway through today's quick two miles, my phone rings.

It is from our house and something must have gone terribly wrong. Why else would they call when I am gone for such a short time to get some exercise? So, I answer it. It is Ethan, and the conversation goes like this:

Me (Breathless): Hello....What?

Ethan: Oh......can I talk to mom?

Me: No, She is not with me now.

Ethan: Oh........

Me: What do you want?

Ethan: Are you running?

Me: I am trying to. What do you need?

Ethan: Oh.....can I have a carrot?

Sometimes our kids can be frustrating. And they are always hard work. The scripture makes it clear that children are a blessing from the Lord. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that. And sometimes we need to be reminded that most of, if not all of, the blessings in our life come hand in hand with hard work.