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You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. House on the Rock Family Ministries. Skip to content. Home About the Authors Marriage Retreats. Good Man. Pray : I know, I know, praying is always first on these kinds of lists. Listen : The most important part of being a good role model and having a good relationship with children is to listen to them.
That means paying attention to what they are saying. Give them your undivided attention, and talk to them about what is important to them. Actively listen, and respond to them truthfully. Spend Time Together: Money is a poor substitute for time. Gifts are nice but they cannot replace time spent together. Instead of buying a gift, take them to lunch, to the park, or to a movie. Join them in activities that they enjoy such as a game or listening to music. Be Supportive: Support them in their pursuits and activities as much as you can.
If your niece sings in a choir, be there in the audience to cheer her on. If your nephew plays sports, go to some of his games. Celebrate with them and tell them how proud you are of them. Share Your Expertise : Teach them something you do well. Cook together, do a craft, make a paper airplane, sing or dance, paint a picture or work on a model.
Do something together that you both enjoy. Tell the truth and tell it often. Live a life of integrity and one that is devoted to God.
Demonstrate faithful living. Talk to them about your faith and what it means to you. Never Undermine Parental Authority: Yes, you love them and you want them to be happy. Like any good aunt, I was bound and determined that Stephen should have the most postcards, so I bugged every person I knew to participate. Those are the silly things you do to make sure your nieces and nephews have the support they need.
An early drama related to Stephen was when I received a call from my mother, clearly holding back tears—which for this strong-minded woman did not happen often. Given that I am barely five feet, it was hard to get overly upset, but I could envision that this handsome young boy with the gorgeous dark eyes and glowing Mediterranean skin reaching only five feet tall might not be ideal. Crises averted. In fact, Stephen steadily grew and quickly surpassed me in height, and today towers almost a foot taller than me.
I have many memories of watching him grow up, most of which involve sitting through innumerable soccer and football games, cheering on a team that usually lost. Living in another state, many times I had to watch him grow up from afar, but I tried never to miss being there for important occasions. Stephen and I always helped his mother bake and decorate her amazing plethora of Christmas cookies. How many boys are not only willing to help, but have fun doing it? I think Stephen is also unique in that he always acted like he enjoyed going on trips with his aunt me and grandmother.
Not many teenage boys are willing to travel with old fuddy-duddies like us, much less laugh through it all. My mother and I have taken him to see the Grand Canyon, where he acted like he enjoyed the hokey train holdup by bandits and cowboys on the way. He was such a good sport about laughing it off. He flew down the natural water slide at Sliderock, Arizona, with me until we were both so waterlogged we could hardly see. We dragged him to Acoma pueblo in the middle of another not, dry New Mexico summer, and watched a pathetic fireworks celebration at another pueblo one Fourth of July where he acted like he had never seen such stupendous fireworks.
These are memories that my mother and I will never forget. Last year, Stephen brought friends with him snowboarding in Santa Fe. Imagine four high school boys on spring break, all the trouble they can get into—my imagination ran wild at the thought. My husband Rob, brother Phil, and I skied through some tough slopes and hid behind trees to check on their big talk—and ended up amazed at how good those boys had gotten in such a short time. How wonderful to be young and athletic! However, the last time I was visiting Dallas with my new iPhone—my nephew had owned one for months already, of course—he was showing me his favorite apps when he started grinning wildly.
Everyone knows you just use your two thumbs. That is so lame! What do I know? I can only imagine, as I fly home to watch him receive his diploma this week, of the many things I will do in the next 48 hours that will mortify him. And yet he will smile and say nothing. Maybe that, after all, is why God made aunts and uncles.
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