After a week of sickness (a fierce cold and a mild stomach bug that. never. ends.) and being cooped up, all the people in my house (grown-ups included) were going a little stir crazy. One of the littles asked if we could go for a walk before supper - looking for any excuse to get out of the house - we agreed.
Since we never really had winter, everything is already blooming. We were walking past one particularly unkempt yard and my husband commented on how it needed to be cleaned up.
Two and a half feet below us we heard "Look at that beautiful yard with all the flowers!"
It's amazing how two sets of eyes can see two totally different things.
One sees what could be with work, care & tending. Another accepts what is and doesn't think twice.
That's why discipling our children is so important. If we don't take the time to teach our faith and our convictions to them, they will never know that their "beautiful flowers" are actually weeds that are choking flowers that are exquisite and the potential for a life-giving garden.
As we journey into an culture that is ever more secular, this task becomes ever more important. It's possible that the only mention of the Gospel our children encounter today are in the home and at church. In some ways this makes our task easier - we don't have to compete with the "Cultural Christianity" or "Moral Majority" of the 1980s/1990s - but it also means that if we aren't teaching it - they probably aren't hearing it.
This Spring, you may yearn for the Garden to be restored. While we wait for that day, let's make sure our children know the perfect Gardener.
Since we never really had winter, everything is already blooming. We were walking past one particularly unkempt yard and my husband commented on how it needed to be cleaned up.
Two and a half feet below us we heard "Look at that beautiful yard with all the flowers!"
It's amazing how two sets of eyes can see two totally different things.
One sees what could be with work, care & tending. Another accepts what is and doesn't think twice.
That's why discipling our children is so important. If we don't take the time to teach our faith and our convictions to them, they will never know that their "beautiful flowers" are actually weeds that are choking flowers that are exquisite and the potential for a life-giving garden.
As we journey into an culture that is ever more secular, this task becomes ever more important. It's possible that the only mention of the Gospel our children encounter today are in the home and at church. In some ways this makes our task easier - we don't have to compete with the "Cultural Christianity" or "Moral Majority" of the 1980s/1990s - but it also means that if we aren't teaching it - they probably aren't hearing it.
This Spring, you may yearn for the Garden to be restored. While we wait for that day, let's make sure our children know the perfect Gardener.
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