My Daughter-Living the Golden Rule

My little girl has a way of touching my heart in all the right ways. Liv and I were tucking her in tonight when Emma asked me to close the door behind me because she needed to talk with us about something. I closed the door and leaned in to listen to her every word. Emma asked if I was aware of how she and her Auntie would make fun of people when they were together. I said, "Uh huh." Then, she said that she didn't think it was fair that she could make fun of other people because she did not like it when other people made fun of her. So, her private request to us was to hold her accountable whenever we caught her making fun of other people. Liv and I agreed, of course and told her how proud we were of her.
   
Liv offered that we pray about this decision, so I had the honor of leading the three of us in prayer thanking God for guiding Emma at such a young age to decide to live out the Golden Rule and for seeking accountability. I asked God to continue to guide us all and let Emma's actions encourage others to seek Him as well. Before I could finish, I heard sobbing, followed by Liv asking, "Why are you crying?" in a tender voice.
    
Through her sobs, sniffles, tears, and rubbing her eyes, she replied, "That God gave me such good parents to teach me how to be a good person." I totally didn't understand a word of that until Liv repeated it for me later. It didn't matter, I got choked up any way. She's my baby girl, and she's the cutest crier in the world, I think. Of course, I got even more choked up about this moment when Liv told me what Emma said. None of the glory of this moment was hers according to herself! I thought how wonderful it is for someone to be able to humbly give credit to their heavenly Father for what they have. See, she wasn't thanking her mom and dad at all. She was thanking God for having a mom and dad like us. Honestly, in the back of my mind, I was thanking God myself that my daughter thinks I'm a good daddy. Emma, my daughter, was giving God all the glory for the moment we were having. I understand better what it means to have faith like a child.
     
Matthew 18:3-4 (NIV), "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."