That's okay, Jake

By Dr James Dobson

One of our volunteers at Focus on the Family US tells us about what he saw at a dog show.

As part of the competition, about a dozen dogs were commanded to “Stay!” for eight minutes while their owners left the ring.

About four minutes into the exercise, our volunteer noticed the dog on the end, a magnificent German Shepherd named Jake. By the time his trainer returned, Jake was lying flat on its stomach with its head on its paws. Everyone expected the trainer to scold the dog but, instead, he bent down, cupped its head in his hands and said with a smile: “That’s okay, Jake. We’ll do better next time.”

There’s a lesson here for parents, too. Children are going to disappoint us. It’s an inevitable part of child-rearing. And when they do, our natural reaction is to bark at them and scold them. If we are wise, however, we’ll remember that they’re only children, just like we used to be, and simply say with warmth: “That’s okay. You’ll do better next time.”


From TODAY, Voices - Friday, 23-July-2010
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