A $10 Trophy To See The Good
Last Fall I was speaking to a friend about how I felt like I was in a hard place with my teen. I felt like all I did was correct him and I hated it. She has teens and understood where I was at. I decided to start praying about it and asked the Lord to help me find a way to highlight how awesome I feel he is. I only have a few years left with him living under my roof every day and I never want him to question how wonderful I think he is.
Today I’m going to share with you something that I feel the Lord helped me to come up with to remind my kids that they are amazing.
Each week (or at least, most weeks) we choose an evening for Family Devotion. (I have a blog post HERE all about it.) In January I ordered 2 of THESE trophies on Amazon. They are cheap and a little silly. And to be honest, I wondered how this would go over with my kids (especially the 14 year old.)
So as we finished our prayer time my kids started to get up and go about their evening. My husband and I said, “Wait! We have one more thing!” I pulled out these trophies and they looked at me a little confused.
“This trophy is for…. (drum roll…you have to be a little extra here) Wyatt!!!!” He looked at me with a strange look and then a HUGE smile broke out across his face. “Wyatt, I couldn’t help but notice this week how helpful you have been while your dad was so sick. (My husband had a rough bout of Covid in January.) I don’t know what I would have done without your help around the house, with your sister, and with meals. Thank you for being amazing!!”
We then went on to award his sister for how sweet she was as a nurse to her dad and how she was so good for her Nina (my mom) while Dad was so sick. Side note - The reality was, she had not been happy to be at my mom’s during part of the time he was sick. She wanted to be with us, on the bed, next to her dad, who was fighting for breathe. But I have learned a huge lesson in all of this. Praise not only what you see, but what you want to see.
My husband and I take turns each week as to who gives the kids the trophies. It’s the silliest little thing and I wanted to wait to share it with you for a few reasons.
I wanted to see if it lasted. Did it get old? But nope. They love it every single week.
It’s really special to us. None of their friends get trophies each week from their mom and dad.
But this $10 trophy has made a difference in our family. I love this part of our family devotion. Maybe you don’t want to do a trophy each week, but I encourage you to find a way to let your loved ones know how the little things they do are the big things that really matter in the end.
Do I have to really think some weeks what to praise them for? I hate to admit, but yes. Some weeks are harder than others and I feel like I’m full of correction. But can I always think of something? Absolutely!
And we’ve even turned it around so they give us trophies. It’s hilarious to hear the things they choose to praise us for. (This is a great way to see the things that matter to them.) And we have had them give each other a trophy. (I have to hold back tears on these.)
Is our family perfect? I’m pretty sure you are well aware that no one is. But do I have so much to be thankful for? I sure do. And the more I focus on how blessed I am, the more blessings I see.