Trying to Fill His Shoes…

Oh what a privilege we have to parent these children God has given us.  As I watch these boys of mine try to live a bit in daddy’s shoes I’m struck by the privilege and responsibility we have to live an authentic life before them.  There is so much to the phrase, “Better caught than taught.”  They are watching and emulating us all the time.  We never get to ‘clock-out’.  They observe us to see if we practice what we preach…  How do we interact with others?  Do we speak the truth just as we ask them to speak?  How do we handle the stresses and trials of life? Do we treat our spouse, our children, others with grace and love?

Sobering thought, isn’t it?  It reminds me of this verse from Ephesians…

That alone is enough to drive me to my knees and humbly ask that the Holy Spirit would move in our lives giving us wisdom and direction as we live out our relationship with God because this affects our day-to-day lives.  I pray for grace as I disciple them and point them to the joy and hope in knowing Jesus and prepare to ultimately launch them towards independence from us and dependence on God as they fulfill all that God has called them to be. Thankfully, this doesn’t require perfection.  If it did, we’d all be up a creek…  It does require reliance on God and bringing them along side us as we walk out our faith.  He is faithful to take care of the rest.

My parents recently had a young German missionary pilot stay with them.  He grew up in a Christian home surrounded by a culture hostile to Christ.  When I asked how his parents helped him and his siblings in their walk with Christ, he responded with two observations:

1. 1. His parents lived out their faith, 24-7.  It was not a Sunday only faith.  Their faith impacted EVERYTHING they did, every day of the week.  It was the real deal.

1. Community matters.  He talked of the importance of his parent’s friends and the discussions they had as they broke bread together on how to live out this crazy adventure of serving Jesus.

I would echo the same thing from my experiences growing up.  Watching my parents and their friends pray for one another, cry out for forgiveness when they messed up, reach out to the lost, extend compassion and embrace God’s call had a deep impact. We watched.   The lives of the adults around us had a profound impact on our lives and God used that to draw us to Himself.  Now we get to give our children a glimpse of this too.

So I prepare for a new day taking encouragement from what Peter wrote:

I pray for grace, dive into the Word, remind myself of my mission, thank God for friends that spur me on in my walk and continue to bring my children along for the crazy ride! Anyone with me?