Ryan's Crown | Our Fun Experience

I want to share a precious experience Asaiah and I had serving Ryan one day last week.  My husband has been working hard lately while he waits for answers concerning a tremendous job opportunity.  I could tell that the stress of the waiting was getting to him.  I wanted to engage my son, Asaiah, in an activity that would boost Ryan's spirits when he came home from work.  I believe the Lord prompted me to make this night special for Ryan.  I wanted to obey God on what I was hearing but wasn't sure what I should do.   

Unfortunately I am not a very creative person when it comes to crafts but somehow the idea of making a "king's crown" for Ryan sounded like an activity that Asaiah would have fun doing.  I don't have many craft items around the house but I do have tons of unused scrapbook material that I decided to use to make this project a success.  I grabbed some card stock, scissors, my glue dots, and the crayons and markers.  I looked online to find a template for a crown.  And the project was underway.

Asaiah was doing a great job of cutting and pasting items to the crown when I began talking to him about his dad.  We talked about how his dad had ambitions to become a police officer.  I told Asaiah that his dad worked hard to get past things that might be in his way and that I was so impressed with his dad's courage to keep going even though it was hard.  I explained to Asaiah that the reason we were making the night special for daddy was because we wanted to show daddy how much we appreciated all that he does for us.  In the back of my mind, I wasn't sure if Asaiah was grasping our conversation but we continued on with our project. 

Asaiah's excitement was growing as the time neared for Ryan to come home.  I really pumped up the excitement, too.  We made pizza and dessert to top off our night of fun.  By the time Ryan arrived home, Asaiah was so excited to serve his dad. 
Just then, we heard the garage door open.  Asaiah jumped up to grab Ryan's slippers.  He ran downstairs to greet his dad.  He helped Ryan take off his shoes, and helped him put his slippers on.  I saw Asaiah run upstairs with Ryan's shoes to put them away in his closet.  Wow!  I smiled as I watched Asaiah serve his dad.

Ryan hardly made it upstairs before Asaiah began explaining the special night we planned for him.  We placed the crown we made at Ryan's seat at our table; there was a note that Asaiah wrote along with it.  Ryan was so good at going with the flow.  He wore the crown proudly.  Asaiah was beaming from ear to ear just seeing his dad wear the crown that we made.

While this night was geared toward doing something very special for Ryan, I saw something developing in Asaiah.  Each time his dad acknowledged his acts of kindness, Asaiah soared with pride and excitement.  Asaiah even offered to rub his dad's feet!  I wish I had a picture of that scene (Asaiah needs some lessons in the area of feet rubbing). 

Later that evening, Ryan thanked me for making the night fun.  It was not difficult for me to create an opportunity from which we could show respect for Ryan's leadership in our home and to let him know how much we appreciate him.  This experience made me realize that I have an important influence on my son's developing perspective on how we honor and esteem Ryan.  I am thankful for my family, and plan to do these types of things more often. 

Here's the picture of Ryan in his crown:

If you have a story like this, or are raising boys, and have a story that would encourage other parents, please share.  I love to read your feedback.

Grace & Peace,
Dori