Teachable Moments

As the father of a teenager, (not only a teenager, but a 15-year-old--not only a 15 year-old, but a 15-year-old that's nearly 16), I find the time for teachable moments are short. So I try to take advantage of them whenever I can. Sunsets, beautiful clouds, sparkling days, etc. are times when I try to mention something of God and His goodness.
Today as we were going to school, we kept hitting the red lights. Usually it's a pretty straight shot since we are going in the flow of the traffic and the green lights are friendly. But we hit four out of five red lights today. "You know," I said, "you don't always hit the green lights in life." We went on with our conversation. He made a smart remark right after that as most teenagers do. So my first thought was he didn't hear it. But since I've raised one other teenager (his sister), I know that many times words said that are ignored often don't go unnoticed. So maybe it took.
I hope he heard me. Because it is important that we understand that life doesn't always go our way. It's not at all like you see on television. As a father, I want him to hit all the green lights. But I know that growth doesn't occur until there is some kind of tough spot, a crisis to work through, a dream broken. I don't like it for my son, but I know he has to have it. I wonder if our heavenly Father feels the same way about us? Have a good day. JW