What would you say is the hardest working appliance in your home? Hint: It resides in the kitchen. That’s right, the dishwasher! I run my dishwasher at least once a day. All the people…all the dirty dishes…all the days of my life. My dishwasher is an analogy for my parenting because I have an unwavering belief that there is one right way to load the dishes. In mom-speak, “My way or the highway.” Today our kitchen-chat is all about leaving room for our kids to make mistakes as we train them both in chores and life. Sometimes we assume that our way of doing things must be the only way. We expect perfection from our small people that we ourselves are not capable of meeting. Deep breaths for letting go and giving our kids room to try, try again. We want our kids to work hard and do things with excellence but perfection should not be the ultimate goal. The dishwasher reminds us to wash away our perfect expectations just like that spraying water washes away the leftover food.

Mentions:

• Bosch dishwasher deep dive found here
• Idiom = figurative language (ex. my way or the highway, raining cats and dogs)
• Good starting chores: taking out the trash and unloading the dishwasher
• Check out Gather Moms LIVE with Kate and Christina Garrett as they talk about tired mommas. If you feel burdened and worn out, join the watch party for wise advice on making changes that will benefit the whole family.

Back to the Bible:

• Colossians 3:12-13 (New Living Translation)

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