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Faith Topics
The Power of Teachable Moments
A Sorry Story
Besides having fun with your children, being humble and approachable also provides
a good atmosphere for teachable moments. When parents become vulnerable through
apologies and set aside their parental power, children’s hearts open up.
With God’s blessing, our relationship could become closer because of the apology.
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If you don’t acknowledge your errors, however, their hearts will close.
As children grow older they will spot our inconsistencies, failures and, yes,
our sins. They will notice when we speed on the freeway, gossip about the choir
director, gather credit card debt, read lust-filled novels, snap at the grocery-store
clerk, and lie about the toddler’s age to get a free ticket on an airline.
And the more of the Bible they know, the easier they will spot our moral frailties.
You must acknowledge and apologize for your failures.
Jim Weidmann, a father of four, tells about a time when he had to apologize
to his son, Jacob:
I was planning on running errands one day with little Jacob beside me in
the car. As was my habit, I clicked on the garage-door opener and rolled the
car out of the garage. The car sounded BAM! My mouth sounded “D-
- -!” as I realized I had smashed the car into the automatic door,
splintering it to pieces.
I looked at Jake, and his pupils were big as planets. He stared back at me
as if I were an alien. With one angry word, I had destroyed my father-hero
image in his 7-year-old eyes. My reputation had come crashing down along with
the garage door. And like that door, my heart was in splinters. If I had the
choice to instantly restore the garage door or to restore my former image
in Jacob’s mind, I would have chosen to restore our relationship. But
how could I?
I let down my son that day, but I didn’t let the incident go as if
nothing had happened. I had an apology teachable moment and with renewed passion
pursued being the best role model I could be. Though I had cracked my father-hero
image, it could be soldered. In fact, with God’s blessing, our relationship
could become closer because of the apology.
— Marianne K. Hering
Adapted from The
Power of Teachable Moments by Jim Weidmann and Marianne Hering, Copyright
© 2004, Focus on the Family. Used by permission.
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