After you’ve heard “An Agreeable Nanny,” check out this devotional thought. (If you haven’t heard the episode, check out the Media Player. You can also find a station in your area.)
By Ashley Padgett
I’m not the most punctual of persons, meaning I’m usually running late. So when I started college it was not unusual for me to be running out the door with just a few minutes to get to class. One typical day I was rushing to class when I realized that the main road I had to take was under construction, and traffic was backed way up! So, I sat there, praying that traffic would move so I wouldn’t be late for class, when suddenly, my car made a “putt, putt, putt” noise and…stopped. I tried to restart it. Nothing. I looked at the gas gage. Empty. Wonderful, now I was stuck in the middle of the road, blocking traffic, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Holding back tears of frustration I dug in my purse for my cell phone, intending to call my dad, just a few minutes away, to come and help me. I dug and dug, no cell phone! That’s when I remembered that I’d forgotten to put it away after using it last. Now the tears did come. I was stuck! What was I supposed to do?
Thankfully, a few of the construction men came over and helped me; they pushed my car out of traffic, and also let me borrow a phone so I could call my dad. In the ten minutes it took for my dad to get there, I sat in my car remembering all the times my parents told me to be sure I allowed plenty of time to get to class, to always have enough gas in my car, to remember my cell phone. Of course I was ready for, and fully deserved the words my dad laughingly (and lovingly) said when he finally arrived: “I told you so”. He had told me so, but I hadn’t listened, thinking I was responsible enough to worry about all those things myself.
Well, I learned a lot that day, 1) always make sure I have gas in my car, 2) construction men are very helpful, and 3) my parents are very smart people. I thought I could take on all that responsibility and do things my own way, but my parents knew (and still know!) better than I do. When they let me do things like drive the car, they expect me to honor that responsibility and not abuse it by letting the gas get too low.
Responsibility is important, like the Parker kids learned in “An Agreeable Nanny.” They thought they were ready for more responsibility, but when they got the opportunity to prove it, they made mistakes. We may think we’re ready to handle more responsibility, but our parents know better than we do. They know how much we can really handle. And when they give us a little more responsibility, it’s up to us to prove that they made the right choice!
What are some situations where your parents have given you responsibility? How did you handle those situations? Share your comments below!
