HUH???

Ever played the game "Gossip"?. It's a party game with the intent to prove how inaccurate our listening skills are when receiving information. When the game starts, the first person in the circle whispers something into the second person's ear like "The sky is falling". The second person whispers it into the next person's ear and so on, until the last person gets the message and says it out loud. "This guy's bawling".

Sometimes mothers feel like they are playing that game with their own children. Only the game is is called "Life Lesson Gossip". It is entirely possible that the interpretation of the original message may be skewed by the following generation.

One example would be the young wife who was cutting the pot roast in half before putting it in the roaster. Her husband asked her why she did that. She said her mom had always cut the pot roast in half. Sometime later, she asked her mom why she did that. Her mom said HER mom had always cut the pot roast in half. Her mom was curious and asked HER mom why she had always cut the pot roast in half. Her mom (the grandma) said she had done it because the roaster was too small and it wouldn't fit.

I too have had some of these "Life Lesson Gossip" moments. My mom was a good cook. She didn't do fancy schmancy cooking, but she made sure the nutrition guidelines were followed. She also baked. She always had muffins on hand, her chiffon cake was light and lovely, and she made great cookies. As she was teaching me the skills I needed to survive in the kitchen, she would say "A good cook can smell when the food is done". I learned she was right. And I sort of pride myself on being able to smell when something should come out of the oven or off the stove, rather than waiting for the buzzer to buzz. It comes in handy because I often forget to put a timer on.

I passed this lesson onto my daughter when she began her culinary career. "A good cook can smell when the food is done." However, I failed to tell her that she should also set a timer, in case she got distracted, and was away from the food when it was done. The buzzer would remind her to remove the items, when her nose wasn't around to say so. So one day, she made cookies. Let me protect the innocent by saying that they looked chocolate, but the recipe had not called for any cocoa. When I asked her if she had set the timer, she said "No, you told me I didn't have to, because a good cook can always smell when the food is done." As the kids say "my bad".

Another personal example of the 'Life Lesson Gossip Game" is more recent. My mom would often repeat the little poem "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last". She said it to remind us of the important things in life. I used this with my son in a teachable moment this last week. We were discussing the life of a dear friend, who had poured herself into other people's lives, and loved them with a godly difference. I said to him "She didn't worry so much about material things. She made a difference in people's lives and that will go on forever. As your gramma used to say "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last. " He paused for a second before repeating "Only one stunt for Christ will last"? And thus ended the lesson.