Today, I watched my little boy put an oven mitt over his hand and mix up an imaginary meal. Like any mother would be, I was touched to see my son enjoying himself—playing fearlessly in the Children’s Museum and exploring with many fun and creative toys.

He would open the wooden fridge and purposely put a spatula in a specific compartment. Though his reasoning was not known to me—or anyone else for that matter—you could tell he had a plan for that metal spatula, and it was to be in that freezer.

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When he placed that oven mitt on his hand today, a truth hit me like a brick. To some, it might be a super cliché truth, but nevertheless, sometimes cliché sayings hit us harder at specific times for a reason.

The truth was I had never shown him how to put that oven mitt over his hand. He simply had watched me cook dinners with these funny-looking mitts on.

From watching me, he knew what to do.

Sometimes, I overlook the fact that he is still so young. Not even one-and-half, and he gathered enough of what was happening around him to know how to copy me. More and more each day, he studies what my husband and I are saying and doing, and he tries to mimic us.

As parents, it’s a scary truth. Little eyes and ears are always watching what we say, what we do, and how we react to certain situations. That’s a serious reality—one we mustn’t overlook.

These little ones’ minds are impressionable, and it’s our duty to reflect love, respect, reverence, commitment, and so much more into their little lives.

It’s funny—a silly, little oven mitt today made me remember to watch my words and actions.

But, isn’t that how God works sometimes . . . through the simple?

It made me remember to slow down and truly reflect on my movements—for little eyes are watching expectantly, trying to figure out this brave new world.

We have been given a huge task by God—to raise beautiful people in a world full of despair. The fibers of our character can knit a masterpiece in our child’s lives or a misshapen garment.

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May our little ones pick up more than just how to put an oven mitt on their hands from our lives. Our goal should be to live in such a way that integrity and uprightness are interwoven in the filaments of their hearts.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

Originally published on the author’s blog.