I Believe That Children Are Our Future

I had a moment today that has my heart swelled up about 15 times bigger than normal and I can't stop thanking God. Today was my day in the nursery at church and my "big" kids always end up hanging out in there with me. We ended up being the only ones today and I was kicking myself for not being brave enough to just take them in service. But I was trying to give it a little time in case somebody came in late and by then, there was no way to make a quiet, inconspicious entrance. So, animal crackers and coloring books it was. But I soon felt like it was a divine appointment. My firstborn pulled up a chair and sat at a table next to me with her Sunday School book. Her teacher asked her to teach the lesson next week and she is taking the task very seriously. She even asked for my Bible to read the Scriptures listed. I looked over and saw my child looking like this....

Oh my. I don't know if you can understand what this does to my heart. I've watched this little girl take her first steps, ride her bike without training wheels and dance like a little pro, but nothing has meant more to me than this moment. My greatest prayer for my babies has always been that not only would they come to know Jesus as their Savior, but that they would genuinely love Him and desire His Word. I know that growing up as preacher's kids has the potential to make everything about church, or to hurt my kids as so often happens in churches, or the worst for me is the thought that it would just be mundane and routine. I want desperately for them to have a passion for serving God because He is real to them, not just an obligation or a guilt trip. All of that is to say, today was a dream in the making for me. A moment when my child was excited about the opportunity to teach and serious about the task.

I won't lie, when our children's teacher started talking about the kids teaching I wasn't totally on board. I mean, what are they going to learn from kids their own age? But, after today, I'm on board. I get it. What a way to get the kids truly involved and teach them how to be leaders. I don't want to get on a soapbox here, but as a pastor's wife I know that one of the most difficult things in our churches right now is finding people who will step up and be leaders and teachers. And I feel like it's because in a lot of ways we have failed to teach people how to lead and teach.  Jesus told us to make disciples, but often we just beg and plead to get people to church, but fail to do the hard, long work of making disciples. Of teaching and living and setting an example. It's my passion as a believer and I know that I fall very short. But the opportunity God has given me with my children has not been lost on me. The fact that I have a believer in my 8 year old who I can daily teach by example and study is a huge responsibility and blessing. Just in the last week or so I have really noticed how she watches me. How in her dance classes that I teach she watches me in the mirror to step exactly as I do. In the kitchen she has learned to wash the dishes and wipe down the table and counters just like I do. Tonight she helped me fold the clothes. She often treats her brother and sister more like her children, like I do. And I know that with that comes the fact that she also picks up on my frustrations and the times I lose my temper and the many, many other ways that I fail. I pray that I am quick to ask forgiveness and talk with her about how I could have done things differently. I know these days are precious and fleeting. This age of influence won't last forever. Now is my chance to invest and influence. I pray I make the most of them.

There are so many days that are full of never ending laundry, trying to get smushed bread out of the carpet (I've got to go work on that), and non-stop fussing between siblings. It easy to overlook the fact that our kids are more than a phase to survive, pictures for our frames or dolls to play dress up with. They are gifts from God that have been entrusted to us to teach, shape and mold into people He will be proud to call His own. It's a big job. Thankfully, we have a big God to teach, shape and mold us!

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”



Deuteronomy 4:9-10