Ask Dad

At a certain age, boys seem to stop listening to their mother. The simple phrase, “I’ll ask Dad,” pops up more and more every day. Some days I find myself hounding my son, trying to get him to do his chores, clean his room or do his laundry. It’s like trying to nail jello to a wall.

When I realize he’s not going to listen to me, I call his father at work and hand my son the phone. For now, only his dad can move him to action. I have to realize the days of “Because I’m the mom!” are gone. My boy is growing into a young man and I need to let go.

If any of you know my son, you know him as an exuberant, outgoing teen. He dances on the edge most of the time, flirting with breaking the rules and getting into real, life changing trouble. There are days when I hound him, trying to get him to fly right, clean up his life or read his Bible. Again, the jello metaphor comes to mind.

One day as I was dialing my hubby to hand the phone over to my son, God did one of those—HEY YOU moments. (Mind you, I don’t hear God’s voice; it’s more like an elbow to the conscience that makes your ribs hurt.)

I thought, “I should be dialing my son’s Father in heaven to get him back on track spiritually!” So before I get exasperated with his spiritual walk, I have resolved to hit my knees in prayer during the day, as a supplement to my regular prayers. I ask God to bless my son, to put a holy hunger in him for God's word and to keep him from temptation. And you know, I’m handling his behavior a lot better.

Do you have someone in your life that you can’t seem to get through to? Is it a relative, a neighbor or good friend that can’t seem to get back on track? Give our Heavenly Father a call in prayer…and then let God deal with them. In fact the prayer works both ways, you’ll start treating them differently.

Let me know when you start to see a change. Because if anyone can nail jello to a wall, my Heavenly Father can!