In the Way
I serve in my church’s Wednesday night children’s ministry. We begin with supper, and then it’s on to stories and crafts, games and songs. But best of all is prayer time. Since we divide into small groups, it gives each child plenty of time to share their prayer requests. The range of those requests is amazing and sometimes humorous. From prayers that “my dog will stop growing” to “that Jesus would raise my grandfather from the dead,” we hear it all.
But the one request we hear more than any other has to do with boys and girls longing to see their Dads. Of course, I don’t know all the stories behind these requests, but what I do know is that these children miss their fathers. I’ve also observed that as a man working with children, I get a lot of attention from the kids.
As I look forward to becoming a grandpa in August, I look back and think about my days as a father of three awesome children. I like to tell people that I used to have three great sermons on being a father and no children. Now, I say, I have three great children and no sermons.
Parenting is tough. It demands all our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual faculties. It’s easy to look back and see where we made mistakes, misjudgments, were too harsh or too lenient with our children. But in spite of the demands and challenges of raising children, I believe the most important thing a parent can do is to be present regularly with their sons and daughters. And by present, I mean more than in the same room; I’m talking about listening, learning, and interacting with these precious people God has placed under our care.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Of course, this passage speaks directly to raising our children in the ways of Christ, but it’s more than that. The Hebrew word translated “way” refers specifically to the “way” of each particular child, their gifts, abilities, and passions. As parents paying attention and spending time with our children, we are able to discern our child’s “way.”
Too many otherwise great parents have plans for their children’s education and lives that in no way fit the gifts and inclinations of the child. Things like a prestigious career and making lots of money turn out to be unfulfilling dead ends in the lives of older adults who lost their way as children.
So, spend time with your kids, learn their ways, fan their gifts into flame, and when they are old, their lives will reflect and be an extension of their creator, bearing fruit for His kingdom.
In Christ,
Dan
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