Dear Grandkids,
“Reyners are not whiners!”
My guess is that by the time you are old enough to read that this is a mantra you are familiar with. And I am sure it is something that you have heard me say. I am not a fan of whining. No parent is. No grandparent is. Nobody likes a whiner. One day you will hate whining as much as I do. The problem is that it seems we are all hardwired to whine when we don’t get what we want. Whining comes naturally. We don’t have to be taught how to whine. But we do have to be taught not to whine. I have been around adults who have never been taught how not to whine and I promise you me that they are no fun to be around. No one likes to be around a whiner.
Which is why you hear me say this to you when you default to a whining mode. Grayson, I am very proud of you for picking up the mantra as a 4 year old and beginning to teach Bowen not to whine. And Bowen I am very proud of you for using your musical skills to put the mantra into a song to pass on to the next generation.
(Bowen singing his new hit song “Reyners Are Not Whiners”)
There is a story in Exodus 16 that demonstrates how easy it is to fall into a whining mode. The Israelites had just experienced one of the great miracles of all time and yet they were whining big time because… 1) they were tired, 2) they didn’t like the food, 3) they didn’t like Moses telling them what to do, 4) they were bored. They had quickly forgotten how blessed they were and all that God had done for them. Here are a few things you might stop and do before you start to whine…
#1 – Remember – Take some time to remember just how blessed you really are. My guess is that this will not be hard if you stop and think about it.
#2 – Express thanks – I can promise you this: Gratitude will get you a whole lot more than whining ever will.
#3 – Learn patience – Waiting can be hard. Waiting can be very hard. But waiting patiently is so much nobler than whining incessantly.
Never forget that nobody wants to be around a whiner. Never forget that Reyners are not whiners!
And never ever forget that you are very loved!
Pop Pop