Two nights ago…yes, I’m aware I’m missing nights here and there; I’m sorry…I started to read chapters 26-30 of Genesis. I didn’t make it past Genesis 26:7-9.

In just 2 short verses something really stood out to me. Read the passage and let’s see if you’ll see what I do.

“When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah. Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.”
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Isaac repeated the EXACT same sin his father, Abraham, did with his wife, Sarah. We know that Isaac had yet to be born when Abraham committed this sin, TWICE, so he wasn’t around to witness it. So I got to thinking, I know! Shocker! 🧐

I thought about how we are with our girls, how we teach them, spend time with them, laugh with them, learn with, and from them, and everything else that entails a relationship with them. I got to thinking about how Isaac did the same thing his father did. How did he think to do it? I think he probably heard the story told a time or two. Now this is all conjecture on my part, but can’t you just see it? Isaac with his father, Abraham, working together, chatting as they’re going about their daily routine, and his dad told him some of the things he did in his life. Like the lie of saying Sarah was his sister instead of his wife.

So! Is this a possibility of Isaac learning a sin that he was taught by his father? It’s possible.

The thing to think about as parents is simple: what am I teaching them? They’re not just hearing our words. They’re seeing our actions. They’re seeing us steal glances at our spouses or girlfriend or friends. They’re seeing us physically react to things happening around us. They pick up on EVERYTHING!

One of my children is so good at observing people that she can tell when someone’s upset just by their texts. I asked her to explain it to me and she said that she can tell by the way they type if the person is ok versus mad versus sad versus happy. She can tell by their lack of punctuation, word choice, etc. She’s done it to me and she’s very accurate. If she can do that with just texts, imagine what she picked up around her as she was growing up. 😳

So, as parents we need to make sure we’re doing our best to set good examples for our children. Have I always done that? Nope! You know why? I’m not perfect! There’s no handbook for this parenting stuff. 😬 However! I do my best and I’ve come to a point where I realized that my choices as a parent were all made out of love for my girls. One constant I’ve told my girls and still do is this: My mom was a better mom than my Mamaw, and I wanted to be a better mom than my mom and I want my girls to be a better mom than I am and, eventually, they should want their children to be better moms than they are. The reason I can say this so freely is because my mom showed me it’s possible to be a better parent when it’s your turn because you learn from the wisdom of the women who went before you. Thank you, Mom. 🥰

So just remember, you’re always teaching your children, even if you’re silent as a church mouse. Sleep well, my friends.