Have I told y’all that I’m about to be a Tula? Oh, right. I have. If you’ll stand still for two seconds, I’ll tell you two more times. That’s what having a grandbaby boy will do for you. But that’s not all. It’ll also make you think and reflect until your head might explode. Is it possible that my baby is about to be a daddy? How did he grow up so fast? Oh, sweet mercy! He never babysat a single live anything. How in the world will he know how to feed and diaper and bathe and and and and and ????? And before you think I’m being all dramatic, let me tell you that his freshman year in college he left Bush’s chicken out in his dorm room for four days and then ate it. Not. Even. Kidding. { And I’m not even going there with what that says about Bush’s. You figure that one out on your own. }

But there’s another question that haunts me more. What did the way I parented him teach him about being a parent to his son? That question almost makes me quit breathing.

I remember a day in Mervyn’s when Logan was about four years old. We were in the ladies department, and Logan was standing at a circular rack of blouses. He was sliding the shirts one by one on the rack saying, “Medimum. Medimum. Medimum. Medimum.” It took me a moment before I caught on. He was mimicking me! He’d seen me do the same thing! You know what I’m talking about. How when you’re looking for your size, and you’re going through the shirts or pants one-by-one and announcing the size as you sift through them. He probably heard me say “medimum” plenty of times as I was in search of a small.

What else did he hear me say? Not just in Mervyn’s, but when a car pulled out in front of me or when someone was taking too long in line at the grocery store or while I was talking to a group of my girlfriends or when his daddy left dirty socks on the floor or when the teacher assigned homework that was too hard or when the coach called a play that didn’t work or …

And, of course, it’s not just what he heard me say, but what he saw me do.

And, of course, he was not then, and he is not now, my only audience.

Entertainment Weekly estimated 81 million people would watch the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Monday night. Every word they spoke was analyzed over and over again. Fact checked, they called it. Making sure their words match up with their actions. Honestly, despite 81 million viewers, I’m not sure that will change one person’s life.

But as followers of Christ, our words and actions do change lives. Not just the lives of our children, but the lives of everyone we come into contact with. Perhaps we all need a little fact checking. Eternity hinges on the story we tell AND live.

May we know Him and make Him known!