Whitney Williams: Learning in spite of mistakes

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 6th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Commentator Whitney Williams now on finding joy, even when our holiday celebrations don’t measure up.

WHITNEY WILLIAMS, COMMENTATOR: I had one job on Thanksgiving. One job. Bring the dessert. THE dessert. My mother-in-law wanted to take care of everything else. Well, she wanted to take care of the dessert, too, but I talked her out of it.

“Don’t you dare make a pie, Debbie,” I told her. “I’ve got dessert under control.”

AUDIO: [HOUSEHOLD SOUNDS]

At least I thought I did. The recipe was perfect: 1 28 oz can of pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, evaporated milk, Eagle Brand milk, eggs, yellow cake mix, pecans, melted butter, and whipped topping …

Winning!

AUDIO: [Oven buttons]

Until it wasn’t. Ten minutes before the timer went off a quarter of the pecans were burnt and the cake mix that didn’t get drizzled with butter remained a loose powder.

But Cool Whip covers a multitude of baking sins, doesn’t it? Longing for a quick redemption, I spread it on before the dessert cooled properly. Of course, the Cool Whip soaked right through. It was ugly, people.

“Stop by the gas station,” I told my husband on the way to his parents. “I need to get some more Cool Whip.” Not wanting to admit my cooking faux pas to my mother-in-law, I asked the attendant for a spoon, as well, so I could spread the new topping on in the back of our van before heading inside. But it was frozen and unspreadable, of course, so I had to go ahead and confess to my mother-in-law that I’d made a mess of that night’s dessert.

I thought about that mess two weeks later when my husband and I attempted to disciple our kids through three build-your-own-manger woodworking kits. I suspect that the kit was written for parents like us, as the guide included convicting … ahem … helpful reminders that pricked our hearts at just the right moments:

Kid: Are we building a house? Other kid: It’s a manger. Do you know what a manger is? It’s what Jesus was born in.

“Be patient,” “mistakes are OK,” I read to my husband as our kids hammered away, bending countless nails and even driving one straight into our dining room table. OK. So that one was actually my bad. “Lead with joy,” I read-whispered in his ear, preaching to myself, as well. “Your kids are watching you.”

Kid: “So is this where baby Jesus he sit?” Mom: “Yeah, it’s like where he laid in the manger …”

I continued to flip through the manual as the boys built with their dad, reading aloud the story of Jesus’ birth and asking questions to engage them in conversation, as I held nails and wooden slats in place. Once each manger was complete, the five of us ventured into the field behind our house to gather hay. 

AUDIO: Let’s go get some hay, hay hay hay … “Mom, I know where the hay is, follow me.”

The kids ate it up–the project, not the hay. And in spite of the mess, mistakes,and moments of parental frustration…

Dad: “Hey, easy trigger!"

…fun was had, Jesus was shared, and screentime was staved off for yet another hour.

AUDIO: [SCREENTIME]

I guess our attempt at discipling our kids that evening was a lot like my Thanksgiving pumpkin delight. Things didn’t go as planned. Mistakes were made… and it certainly was not as pretty as the recipe.

But even still, it was pretty durn good.

AUDIO: And Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus riding that far on a donkey. It wouldn't be comfortable. Why can’t you just get off of it? Well, you could, but you’d have to walk…We also know the terrain was rough and probably dangerous…

I’m Whitney Williams.

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