Where did you learn love, child?

[Reprinted from Jesus, the Gentle Parent: Gentle Christian Parenting by L.R.Knost. Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages and Stages; Whispers Through Time: Communication Through the Ages and Stages of Childhood; and The Gentle Parent: Positive, Practical, Effective Discipline by L.R.Knost also available on Amazon and through other major retailers.]

Where did you learn love, child?
I felt it in my mommy’s arms.

And where did you learn joy?
I heard it in my daddy’s laugh.

Where did you learn peace, child?
I saw it in my mommy’s life.

Where did you learn patience?
I heard it in my daddy’s voice.

And where was kindness learned?
I felt it in my mommy’s touch.

And what of goodness, child?
I saw it in my daddy’s heart.

And where was faithfulness?
I heard it in my mommy’s prayer.

And gentleness, my child?
I felt it in my daddy’s hands.

And what of self-control?
I saw it in my mommy’s eyes.

And what will you do with what you’ve learned?

I will love freely and share joy,
practice patience and self-control,
show kindness and pursue goodness,
and live a life of faithfulness
as I walk gently and in peace
through this wonderful world we share.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…

“And the greatest of these is love”
L.R.Knost

Related posts:

Fear Doesn’t Lead to Faith: Becoming Your Child’s Safe Place

Stealing God’s Gift: Free Will is a Gift to be Nurtured, Not a Curse to be Broken

Grace has a Face…It’s Yours

Tattered Tapestries: Weaving Trust Through the Chaos

Spare the Rod: The Heart of the Matter

Jesus, the Gentle Parent: Gentle Christian Parenting

Practical, Gentle, Effective Discipline

The Problem with Punishment

12 Steps to Gentle Parenting

Bridge Over Troubled Waters~Parenting a ‘Problem’ Child

200 Ways to Bless Your Children with a Happy Childhood

Award-winnning author, L.R.Knost, is the founder and director of the children's rights advocacy and family consulting group, Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources, and Editor-in-Chief of Holistic Parenting Magazine. Books by L.R.Knost include Whispers Through Time: Communication Through the Ages and Stages of Childhood ; Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages and Stages ; The Gentle Parent: Positive, Practical, Effective Discipline ; and Jesus, the Gentle Parent: Gentle Christian Parenting the first four books in the Little Hearts Handbook gentle parenting series, and children’s picture books Petey’s Listening Ears and the soon-to-be-released Grumpykins series.