“While we sat at the breakfast table this morning, I looked at my 5-year old wondering to myself—how do I start preparing her for the world–spiritually?”
A young dad that I mentor recently shared that with me. Like all of us, he’s at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, plugged into the news, waiting to hear when we can get back to “normal.” Unlike other periods, in this unprecedented time, he has a rare and precious opportunity to minister to his young daughter in ways he hadn’t before. With all the busyness of life drawn to a halt, he faces the stark observation that his ‘autopilot’ parenting wasn’t enough to develop his children in their spiritual formation.
The Problem: He didn’t know how to make it happen.
And most likely, that’s you as well. You want it. You’ve always wanted it. But you’ve just never really known how to go about it. I can candidly say, that was me too. You haven’t known where to start. Neither did I. It sounds too hard, too far above us and borderline impossible. Be encouraged, because:
You are not called to be a theological expert.
I’m not saying that to oversell you and keep you hooked on the line here—intentional spiritual parenting is something you learn and grow in. When I tell you that you don’t have to be a theological expert, I mean that you don’t have to complete a thorough curriculum of study courses to gear up and get ready for it. Nor should you feel pressure to prepare an encyclopedia of inspirational answers for all of life’s experiences and challenges so you can share it with your children.
It’s deeper than that. When you plan for your children’s spiritual development, it’s designed to be more than you are capable of delivering, which means it’s something that requires God’s help. Invite Him in, and he will guide you in developing a plan that is a unique fit for your family—now and hopefully, for many years to come.
Bottom line: Developing a spiritual plan and championing it for your family is not about completing a Bible Study, following a prescription, or checking an item off of your to-do list. Ultimately, this is about building a legacy–a spiritual legacy.
In my family, our children who are in their twenties and thirties, married, and leading active and busy lives, still join us for a weekly family bible devotional and prayer time every Sunday evening—by shared consent.
They are—this is—my legacy.
If you are a parent, looking to redefine your “normal,” and to champion your family’s spiritual development in your home, I challenge you to do two things:
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