My ten-year-old to me: “You said this was NOT going to hurt us, but you lied.”
Last month, I took them to get their flu shots and I guess I was being a little too optimistic.
“What I was trying to communicate was that what I was about to do to you guys was NOT HARMFUL. It was good. It’s a good thing to get a flu shot and protect you against the flu during cold and flu season.”
“Well, it still hurt.” Her arms were crossed and so was her face.
“It hurt you in the moment, but it will probably save you from a lot of pain in the long run.”
Okay, okay, that conversation was a little messy, and it probably wasn’t the best example (especially because vaccinations are so controversial). But I thought I would at least ATTEMPT to give an introduction post to the small series I’m doing next: RECEIVING REPROOF.
Reproof is kind of like getting a shot. Painful in the short-term, but helpful in the long-run. Here are some questions to be thinking of while we get started:
- When is the last time that someone corrected you?
- What was your response? Defensiveness? Were you slow to speak and quick to listen? Did it make you angry? Did you thank them or criticize them internally for being so rude?
- When was the last time you knew something someone was doing or saying was wrong…but you weren’t sure how to confront it?
I hope this series gives you something to think about, and perhaps somewhere along your journey you’ll have the opportunity to put these principles to use.
A picture of another child mad at me.
