The Most Important Thing

I was just over at Jen's blog, and in her latest post she reminded me that as a Christian mother, our foremost goal for our children is to help them to know the Lord. This is not easy, because of the very nature of our faith. It is not something that can be forced on someone, it must be embraced. Trying to indoctrinate your child will often just push them away from your faith. Instead, you must try to create a hunger for the Lord within them, so that they will of their own free will seek the Lord. Chad and I both know that our deeply personal relationship with the Lord has transformed our lives. I wish there was a magic pill we could give our children so that they, too, can have this experience, but unfortunately it's not that easy! As Jen wrote, every once in a while, though, you see something that gives you hope that your child is developing not only a vague awareness of a supernatural being, but a truly personal relationship with God. I have always been very open about praying and reading my Bible in front of Elianna. I never made her do it, just let her see me doing it. One day a couple months ago we were having a particularly trying day, and Chad was working late. (This always seems to happen on the rough days!!!) I was getting a tension headache, so I leaned forward, putting my forehead in my hand, and grumbled, "I just wish Daddy would get home!" Elianna watched me thoughtfully. Then, she folded her little hands, bowed her head, and said, "bmgmbfd...Daddy...bmjgfmbg.. come ohm!" Between the gibberish, I heard her ask for Daddy to come home. (She said it "ohm.") I realized that when I put my head down, she had thought I was praying!! This was the first time she had initiated any kind of prayer on her own, outside of mealtimes. Since then, she also asks to "Pay" (pray) at night when she goes to bed. Chad rarely has to prompt her, since she has a whole list of people and places she wants to pray for. We only hope and pray that she will continue in her search for God until the day she comes to know him as her personal Lord and Savior. Of course, we have dreams and ambitions for our children to excel in every other area of their life (socially, academically, etc...) But this is, to us anyway, the most important thing of all.