One day several years ago, my son and I had driven to the local miniature golf course (he was about nine at the time). It was not easy to maneuver my large, half-ton truck into the teeny little parking spaces provided. While squishing into the only parking space available, my truck grazed the outer portion of the side mirror of the car next to us. I quickly jumped out to take a look and found that the damage was extremely minimal, barely there, but still, I could see a slight scrape in the paint where my truck had brushed it. I was certain that the scrape would never be noticed by the owner of the car, and every fiber in my body wanted to park the truck and go inside, ignoring the scrape and forgetting the whole incident. However…….

My son was sitting in the passenger seat and, although I’m sure he didn’t realize it, was waiting to see what I’d do. I knew in that moment, like a bolt of lightning, that I had an incredible opportunity to teach him a lesson of integrity. So I reached in the truck for a piece of paper and left a note for the owner of the car with my name and phone number. Sure enough, the owner called that night. I ended up paying $250 for a repair that I’m certain was never made, but I knew that I gained much more than I lost that day.

I believe that our children are watching us every second of every day. I believe that our actions shout what our words only whisper. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I was given that day to show my son what a life of integrity looks like.

How about you? What life lessons have you shared with *your* precious kids lately?