Dinner Disaster By Shelley Byrne, mother of three

The other night I tried a new recipe for dinner. It involved a bit of chopping, adding, stirring and quite frankly – a lot of monitoring to make sure it came out right.

Meanwhile, I took the easy route for a vegetable and popped some green beans on the back burner to simmer while I focused on this new fancy main dish. It had a couple of ingredients in it that I had never used, so when I started smelling something unusual, I just thought it was the new sauce. The odor became more of a burning smell, and I frantically checked my new entrée to make sure it was still on track. Well, my new dish turned out beautifully, but the green beans on that back burner slowly burned themselves to the bottom of the pan, thus creating an awful smell once it was too late to save them!
 

"I desperately want to
stay in tune to the
everyday needs
of my children."

While trying to scrub and salvage my little saucepan, I reflected on my dinner fiasco. I wondered just how many times I take the same approach with my children. How often do I assume that they are doing just fine and push them off to the back burner while I focus on something else of interest to me or something that is more demanding of my time?

I desperately want to stay in tune to the everyday needs of my children. I don’t want to miss the little signals that they send out when they need my attention. Fancy dinner or not, it’s my kids who need me most.

Dear God, it can be so easy to focus on the wrong priorities. This holiday season, lead me to pursuits that bind me to my family, and ultimately bring honor to you.