Going to the Extreme

I have realized something today. I am not the parent I want to be. There was a statement I heard many years ago, “Your extreme will be your child’s norm.” I cannot recall who said it but it has always stayed with me. I do remember the context in which it was spoken. I was at church and the preacher was telling us young adults that ungodly lifestyles would impact the next generation, so be careful choices you make. Overall, the context was a negative one. “Your running behind your parents back drinking/partying will be socially acceptable to your child.” Haven’t we seen this already with the children being raised in America today? He meant to “scare us straight” but it meant something completely different to me. For me, it was a challenge to be more determined in setting a good example in faith. My passionate worship of the One True Living God would be second nature to a child raised in that environment. Because of the example of prayer, my child would not see it as a hassle but a continual conversation with an intimate Savior. My daily Bible reading, though a sacrifice for me to make fit into my life, would cause my child to have a friend closer than a brother who he could turn to in his hour of need.  However, I have found lacking in my own life.

Yes, worship IS second nature to me. I was raised with a mother who sat at her piano everyday to sing hymns of praise to her faithful God. As I write tears come to my eyes thinking of how I would be in the backyard playing and I could hear the piano crescendo as my mom sang “How Great Thou Art.” Beautiful melodies, beautiful memories, and a heritage of faith expressed through music. Kayden and I will dance to praise and worship at home and at church will great joy building on that legacy of worship. It comes easy for me because of the example set by my mom. It is a greater expression of me to my God, my Friend, my Savior and I want that to come even easier with even more passion to my children.

Prayer has also been a great gift handed to me through generations. It is mainly through my father that I receive this gift. I was surrounded by nightly prayer rituals as a child, intense and deep prayers by my dad for family members who were in distress and at times rushed to my grandparent’s house in the middle of the night to intercede on their behalf when they were ill. Nothing was ever too silly or shallow to pray over. Due to this tradition of prayer, silent or aloud, my child has developed a keen awareness of our supplications. He loves to pray even when doesn’t know what to say. It’s cute that when I have a headache or complain of an ailment he immediately wants to pray over me. My heart is that all of our children will know that there is a God who hears their cries and will answer when they call.

However, what about that other part, the Word. My whole life I have struggled to maintain a consistent Bible reading plan. I have tried everything: a journal, a “Read the Bible 365 plan,” and even accountability partners (who weren’t so accountable) but I’m still inconsistent. No, I will not blame my parents but I will say that we did not have regular daily devotions as a family. This was one area that I wanted to remedy in my own children. The Bible is foundational to a person’s beliefs. Without the Word what do we base our faith on, sermons? No, sermons are someone’s interpretation of God, a revelation of who God is to them. When we read the Bible, for ourselves, different words and context may come alive to you/me because we are viewing them through our frame of reference. It will be what the Holy Spirit wants for me/you to comprehend at that time. I want my children to believe in God because they found the truth for themselves, not because someone told them that is what is true. In that is a foundation which cannot be shaken.

So, here in lies the challenge. For the sake of my children I need to be radical. For some, I may seem radical already. I dance at church, I sing from the top of my lungs, I shout “Hallelujah” too from time to time and I pray for those who are sick and expect them to recover…Yep, I’m one of those believers. However, I want to be a radical Bible reader too. I want my children to be even more extreme than I am. I want them to read and devour the Word of God like it is the very breath that they breathe. I want them to dance like David danced. I want them to pray with fervor like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. I want the legacy of faith to continue because it is ingrained in their nature. With that being said, here is my prayer: Lord, give me the strength and determination to live a life to the extreme.