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Men of Integrity, May/June 2000
| Powerful Words |
Thursday, June 15
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Big Bunny
Key Bible Verse: "Oh,
that I had someone to hear me!" (Job 31:35). Bonus Reading: Isaiah 59:1; 65:24
When
I was 12, a surprising thing happened. Dad asked me to go fishing with him. He
was a busy executive, rarely
John and Cindy's once effervescent
little girl had been replaced by a sullen, silent 13-year-old. Then the troubled
parents got an idea. One evening John knocked on Elizabeth's door. She wordlessly
admitted him but sat back down at her desk, her back to her father. John sat
on the bed. "When I was a kid," he began, "I had a stuffed animal
named 'Big Bunny.'" Elizabeth turned to look at him blankly.
"Whenever I was frustrated
or scared or mad or nervous about something, I'd talk to him," John continued.
"And you know what?" Elizabeth slowly shook her head. "Big Bunny
always listened to me. I know you're growing up, but I'd like to give you a
Big Bunny of your own."
"Dad, you're not serious!"
Elizabeth protested.
"Don't worry, I know
you're too old for an actual stuffed toy," John said. Then he told her
that whenever she wanted someone to talk to who wouldn't be critical, who'd
listen and not give advice, he'd be her Big Bunny. All she had to say was, "Can
I talk to Big Bunny?"
"Elizabeth finally
has a 'place' to unload her frustrations and fears," John reports. "Our
relationship is on the mend."
—Robert Wolgemuth in Daddy@Work
Personal Challenge:
- How can you use your power to make your children
feel safe?
Thought to Apply: The most important thing
in communication is to hear what isn't being said.
|
— PETER
DRUCKER (management
consultant)
|
Credits: Adapted from— Thursday: Daddy@Work
(Zondervan, 1999)
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of
Integrity. For reprint information click here.
May/June 2000, June 15, 2000
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