The older we get the more we realize how much better life is if we are just willing to learn things the easy way – like by listening to those who have been there and done it and who have the experience to give us advice on avoiding pitfalls we will face.

In the early years we tend to dig in our heels and demand to do it our way, refusing to listen to others with more experience because we are certain that they don’t really know and they are just out of touch with “todays” way of doing things. Then we do it our way only to make silly mistakes and find out that those with experience weren’t so out of touch after all.

As a parent it can be incredibly frustrating because as your kids reach college age and begin life as independent adults and when you try to advise them you get the “I’ve got this” response, only then to get the phone call when things go wrong and they need you to step in and fix things for them because they found they didn’t have it after all….when all of it could have been easily avoided if they would only have trusted your experienced advise in the first place!

But the irony of life is that as I express parental frustrations of my own, I am 100% certain my own parents are laughing because I did the same thing  with them back in my college years…and I am certain that my parent’s parents are up in heaven laughing at my parents because they did the same thing with them…and on and on…all the way to our Heavenly Father who knows how much frustration we could all avoid if we just followed his advice 🙂

It’s true that we can learn through our life experiences, but we can also learn a heck of a lot easier way if we simply listen and learn from the wisdom of those with experience that we can trust! And guaranteed, our parents will absolutely thank us for it someday!!!

Have an amazing sunshine day!

~Amy Rees Anderson