My mother is one of those mothers who is always giving advice to her children. That used to drive me crazy. Because if you don’t know how to give advice the right way it can be misconstrued as an insult.

On Thanksgiving I was talking to my son in Florida and he started giving me advice. I started to defend myself but he told me he wanted to talk without me interrupting. So I stopped and I listened. He told me I tended to exaggerate things when I thought someone had done me wrong.

I thought about that for a bit and I realized he was right. I do tend to exaggerate things when I play the victim role. That is a character trait which I have gotten from my mother. It is something which I need to stop because it blocks God from bestowing blessings on me in the midst of trials.

When I exaggerate I am giving in to doubt and fear. Making things much worse in my mind than they are in reality. I have pulled back from God at that time and given in to remorse and despair. I have failed to believe that “all things work together for good.”

I hurt myself more than anyone when I do this. Because I make things much worse in my mind and my spirit than they really are.

The conversation expanded and we began to discuss our dating relationships. He confessed that he had quite a few young women who were interested in him but he didn’t feel the same towards them. I have felt that way many times in my life. The difficult aspect of being in this position is that you are bound to hurt someone and neither my son or I enjoy doing that.

I told him that sometimes locking a door to someone is the kindest thing to do. It hurts the other person initially but to pretend to love someone just because they love you is never a wise act to play.

We talked for over an hour and I gained so much wisdom from the conversation. Although this son could not partake in our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner because he was in Florida, I felt as if the conversation with him was as satisfying as the meal.

It takes a lot of humility to take advice from a child. It also takes mutual respect. I sometimes wonder how different my Mother’s life would have been if she not only gave advice but also received it from her children.