While I was mowing this past weekend and making my straight lines with my push mower I thought back to when I was a kid learning how to mow.

My dad patiently taught me how to mow when I was 10 or 11 years old. Teaching me how to push the mower and proper safety was not the hard part. The hard part was showing me how to push the mower in a straight line. When I was learning, my lines were so crooked and I had the hardest time following a straight line.

Each time the grass needed to be mowed my dad would have me yet again mow the yard even if I had crooked lines and he needed to correct me. As time went by those lines got straighter and straighter until one day my lines were straight and I didn’t need any corrections.

Fast forward to this past weekend and my straight lines in my yard at my own house at the age of 46 are because my dad took the time to patiently teach me how to push mow the grass.

The valuable lesson my dad taught me all those years ago had nothing to do with mowing a yard. The valuable lesson I took away and was reminded about yesterday is to be patient and consistent when teaching others a skill that can be useful throughout life. The skill may be to our children, it may be to another family member, a friend, or maybe a complete stranger.

I challenge each of us to never take small teaching moments for granted because those teaching moments can be carried on through life and be applied to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Your Friend,

Aaron