The top 10 things a 40-year-old dad has learned from his 3-year-old son.

For 14 years we were a family of two. And that was OK. Then my wife started having some weird physical sensations. We were sure she had something seriously wrong with her. We didn't know then just how serious this baby stuff would be.

Since I was 38 and my wife was 42, a baby didn't seem possible to either one of us. But today we have a bright, active 3-year-old. Already this little guy (Adam is his name) has managed to teach his 40-year-old dad (me) a lot about life. My Top Ten lessons include:

10. Toodlers are learning more than you realize. Adam has attended church services every week since he was a month old. And Mom and Dad (mostly Mom) faithfully carried him to all the toddler Bible classes. Friends told us we were wasting our time. But we discovered that something was sticking in his mind, because the first week after Adam started walking, he headed right for those felt boards by himself.

9. There's more to life than work. I've worked for several workaholics in my career. And occasionally I found myself slipping into that same habit. But this 3-year-old has a way of performing serious attitude adjustments on his papa when he stays at the office too long. I now know to work hard during the day but to leave the work in the office.

8. Comments about other kids will come back to haunt you. During those 14 kidless years I regularly judged other people's children. Now all those parents carefully observe our progress, gleefully keeping track of all our foulups. Adam has taught me to let God do the judging.

7. Very little tops the feeling you get when your kid says, "I love you." You know he does, but when he says it--wow. Now I know how vital it is to let other people know they're important and loved.

6. When you're scared, your papa will protect you. Put Adam in an uncomfortable situation, and he quickly searches out his papa. God's protection for me and my family has become even more personal as I deal with my boy.

5. Bible stories about babies are there for a reason. Much of the Bible can be a little deep for a 3-year-old. But Adam loves the stories about Baby Moses on the river and Baby Jesus being born in the stable. Those stories seemed old hat to me. But they've been the key to giving Adam an awareness of how God cares for him even today.

4. You can't explain patience to a 3-year-old. When it's time to eat, hey, it's time to eat! That Mama hasn't quite finished cooking dinner isn't an acceptable reason when you're 3. While Adam doesn't have much patience at times, he's certainly developed more in me.

3. No matter how many really neat toys a 3-year-old has, all he really needs is a basketball and a garden hose. Adam is happiest when he's shooting hoops with Dad or helping Mom water the garden (and getting soaked in the process). He's helped me realize that life's simpler things are still the best.

2. We really do have to become like little children. Adam has trust in his mom and me. And through my relationship with Adam, I'm learning more about how my relationship with God needs to be based on that same kind of trust.

And the number one thing I've Iearned from my 3-year-old son is:

1. My parents must have prayed a lot. I say this because I know that I've been praying more in the past three years. Praying for guidance. Praying for the right words to say to a 3-year-old. Praying that God will make up where I fall short as a dad. A wise Christian woman once wrote that "more than human wisdom is needed by parents at every step . . ." (Child Guidance, p. 2 1). She's right.

Larry Becker is editor of Vibrant Life.