Ever hear the biblical account of Shamgar? We learn from Judges 3:31 that he “killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel (ESV).” (Seriously, look it up.) What a stud!That right there is a dude you want on your side of any battle. Shamgar got it done, and he was not messing around! My wife Katie’s mentor from her early twenties used to say that Shamgar “did what he could where he was with what he had.” We have a lot of fun with that saying here in the Clark household.
We live in the Charlotte area, and we have not seen much snow at all in the last few years, which is sad for my wife because she grew up in Rochester, where there was nothing BUT snow in the winter. And it’s even sadder for our kids, because all they want is one good snow to play in. So this morning kids came in our bedroom, exclaiming about the “snow” on the ground. This will sound and look like a joke to anyone who lives in the north, but down here, we’ll take whatever we can get that passes for snow.
So while it was still relatively cold, they went out and collected the snow/slush with our push broom, so they could have enough to work with. Also on the agenda was a near-attempt at collecting yet more snow/slush by setting up and descending an escape ladder from a bedroom (yes, escape ladder) while using said push broom to scrape the snow/slush off the roof. I say “near-attempt” because, lucky for Katie and me, the escape ladder setup was loud and prompted investigation.
So our kids this morning did what they could where they were with what they had, and came up with this little gal:
I confess, helping the kids go out in the snow is not exactly my favorite parenting activity. And I wince on the inside as they come in and out and potentially track in mud and leave coats outside, etc. Often, I just want them to stay inside and admire what’s outside. It’s so much easier. There’s nothing to clean up and no time is wasted on something that won’t benefit us in a tangible way.
Wrong! How dare I steal this joy! This is the stuff of childhood. Our kids will grow in confidence as they learn resourcefulness — doing something of value with not much to work with.
So what’s our gold here? Don’t be a lame adult as a parent. Give your kids the space and time and opportunity to do something just because it can be done, or just to see if it can be done. No, making a little slush-man is not valuable to me, but that misses the point. The point is, the kids saw an opportunity to create, and they did it, and they were proud of it.
At least her ears are warm. Shamgar would be proud. Olaf too.