Lessons From The Doll House

Are we still playing dolls here? Yes! Here's the latest creation: a doll house puppy box for the children's room. My daughter made it and received plenty of praise from her mama.



For those of you keeping up with our doll house adventures, here's the latest.

"Year of the Doll House" has been a very thought-provoking venture for me. My daughter and I have really enjoyed playing together. The lessons have been just as much for me as for her.

Speaking of "lessons," it's not something formal where playing becomes rote. We simply talk while we play, and I am -- quite simply -- committed to playing. I try to have had my meditative time with my bible and Proverbs earlier in the day, which helps me to have "a word in season" for whatever we are doing.



It's also not about dropping whatever I am doing and giving in to my daughter's every whim. It's about giving of my precious time to her, when I have time to give it. I think of times in the past when she's asked me to play -- and probably needed my attention more than anything, but I was too busy. I don't want that to be the tone of our relationship.

What are her lessons?

The other day she mentioned her doll house being small compared to her cousin's very tall doll house. We talked about having patience and adding another level to her own doll house. This situation gave me the opportunity to mention a thought that had been on my mind from Proverbs. I had been reading about Solomon. He was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived: 40 thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12 thousand horsemen. (I Kings ch. 4) There's more, but does that give you a hint? Still, with all his material wealth, it was his request to God that made him great: "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad;..." (I Kings ch. 3)

I explained to my daugther that I thought it was the best request we could have, whether our house was great or small. To have wisdom to establish a home and to raise our children and to discern between good and bad is the key. The size of the house matters not if there's no peace in it.

Anyway, that's the kind of lessons I want to undertake, and in the most gentle, non-preachy way.

Lynn