We must beware of complaining and passing our dislikes onto our children. One day, in 1993, while I was at a luncheon, I began talking to a woman about how I didn’t like housework, cooking or sewing. She asked what my mother’s attitude had been like in regard to those things. I said she was very good at them, but she didn’t enjoy them.
It later occurred to me that my mother’s distaste for those things had rubbed off on me, and if I kept complaining and voicing my opinion of those things, the girls might reflect that. Instead, I needed to look for ways to involve them in those tasks and make it fun. It’s a curse to spend most of your life doing the things you don’t like. I realized that I needed to have a change of heart. I needed to step beyond just doing it dutifully to doing it cheerfully. After all, God loves a cheerful giver. I had been a begrudging giver.
I also found it helpful to look for women who were good at the skills I lacked. One woman helped me to be better organized. Another loved to sew. Others enjoyed cooking. Those women enriched our lives and provided good role models for our daughters. Instead of complaining and being a begrudging martyr, I learned to humbly seek help and to allow God to change my attitude. Both joy and negativity are contagious. I want to leave my children with a legacy of joy!
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