Shine Now! Mag July 2016 Shine Now! Mag July Volume 1 Issue 2 | Page 8

After some time in prayer, God revealed that I should not
try to compete with her dad to be the “fun parent.”
Instead, I am the parent she needs, who is God-fearing.
The one who imparts wisdom and instructs her to the
follow the path she should take in life.
Now, that’s not to say we could not have any fun. It was
not God’s desire for my daughter to manipulate me to do
whatever she wanted. I decided to use my gifts and abilities
to cultivate our relationship.

During this time, I was in the beginning of my culinary
arts career and my daughter was a sports fanatic. She
especially loved basketball. When she would come home, I
took the time to find the foods she loved and we prepared
them together in our kitchen. On occasion, we would
watch a game while preparing the meal.
One evening as we began to cook, she cracked an egg that
seems to explode over her entire face.
As I laughed with tears running down my face, she began
to cry from the embarrassment and hurt she felt. She
responded, “Mommy it’s not funny.” I stopped laughing
and wiped her face and gave her a hug. Needless to say, I
stayed away from eggs for a while! It taught me to pay
closer attention to her feelings even when cooking
together. It also helped me to become a more mindful and
attentive parent in all areas of her life.

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