Many years ago, my son, Christopher, wanted to dress up for Halloween as Superman. He planned to wear his new Superman pajamas and a hand-me-down Superman cape from his Aunt Kathy. However, the weather report predicted very cold temperatures for that Halloween. When my wife said he would have to wear a coat over his outfit, he argued, “Superman doesn’t get cold! Why would he wear a coat?”

I suddenly had an inspired idea. I said to Christopher, “You know that Superman has muscles, right?” He nodded. I suggested, “Why don’t you go upstairs, put on your gray sweatpants and sweatshirt, and then wear your Superman outfit over them? This way, you’ll look muscle-bound like Superman.” His face lit up with excitement, and he ran upstairs to follow my instructions. When he came back down in his bulky Superman costume, he began flexing his muscles for us. Seeing how excited he was, Vicki gave me a grateful smile, relieved to have avoided that argument and to know our son would be warm while trick-or-treating. That night, I took Christopher out, and he was not cold at all.

A month earlier, we painted Christopher’s room, and the fumes were so strong that we realized he could not sleep there that night. Christopher really wanted to sleep in his bed, so my wife told him he would have to camp out in the spare room. We brought in a mattress, a sleeping bag, a small pillow, many of his stuffed animals, and a nightlight to simulate a campfire. Instead of being upset, Christopher was excited to sleep on the floor of our spare room that night because his mom said it would be fun.

After I relayed these stories to my dad, I added, “I just realized something: being a parent is like being a used-car salesman. When your child is in a bad situation, you spin it to make them think they are in a good one, even when they are not.” Then I accused my dad of doing the same when he was raising me. He chuckled knowingly and said, “Welcome to parenthood.”

When children are young, you can often convince them, but as they grow older, they see through it. Thankfully, our heavenly Father is no used-car salesman. When we were lost in sin, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us and grant us eternal life. He also promised to be with us until the close of the age—through life’s good and bad, joy and sorrow—and to provide for our needs. What amazing love! As Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Let us rejoice in having such a loving heavenly Father.

Take care,

Bill R