Nothing says leaving for college like this chopping cart. And a tuition bill. |
Last week, I posted what I said would be the first in a series of blog posts about the church. Reality, however, had other ideas. The reality is, that require a lot of research, thought, and above all, time. Time which I don't have right now until our last child leaves for college.
That, if anyone is counting, is in exactly 2 weeks. Fourteen days. 336 hours, which translates to not enough hours to spend with this wonderful young woman before she flies away.
For the next two weeks, I'll be enjoying my kid. And packing. And occasionally crying. Not where she can see. I won't be doing much researching.
So that series is postponed until September, and today, I want to talk about family. Precisely--why did God give us these creatures we get so attached to, to the point where we believe they are ours? What is family for? It's a question I answered last month, in fact, in an article in Light and Life Communications. Here is the answer I discovered.
When
we took our three girls, then ages 6, 10, and 12, to China for a
mission trip, we received responses ranging from, “You're so
brave,” and “I wish I could do that,” to “You're completely
out of your minds.” That last one was more common than is really
polite, but I'm kind of used to it twelve years later. By this time,
I believe that if people don't think we're out of our minds
when we do God's mission as a family, we're doing it wrong.
When God blessed Abraham and gave
him the promise of children (Genesis 12.2-3), his reasons went far
beyond Abraham and Sarah. “I
will bless you...and you will be a blessing....and all peoples on
earth will be blessed through you.” It's
a pattern God set at this very foundation of his covenant with his
people. I'm giving you this gift—now use it out there where people
need it.
The
modern western world has remembered mostly the first part.
Normally,
we see family as a gift for us. God has blessed us with
children, siblings, spouses, or others. People for us to love and
live with, to support unconditionally and need deeply. While
certainly true, what if that's not the way God's people were
originally called to look at their families? What if our first
calling is to take our children into the world and see them as
blessings for the purpose of God's kingdom?
Maybe
it means going on a mission trip with your kids. Maybe it means
volunteering more with them at home, with service organizations or
simply by helping out a neighbor. (See this link for some good ideas!) It could mean allowing your child
to work through tough situations with a classmate or coach, teaching
him to extend grace and forgiveness rather than jumping to “defend
the tribe.”
For some, it's meant living in a neighborhood others
wouldn't choose because there are people there who need a blessing.
Daily, it means keeping eyes open not only to see where others need
us but where we can model a life of service for those who watch us.
I
sometimes cry when I think of how empty this house is going to be in
336 hours. Three little girls once filled it with screams and skids
and crazy cooking experiments gone awry. Art projects and K'Nex
roller coasters that engulfed entire rooms. It will not ever sound
quite right again. (Though it ought to be much cleaner, on the flip
side.)
So we do this. While as can. |
What
I won't cry are tears of worry. I know why they were given to me. I
know they know. I know they are ready, equipped, and excited to take
on the world God has given them to bless. They aren't mine. They
aren't even their own. They are their Lord's, who wants them to be for others. He is going to use these
young women to shake up, and bless, this world.
How
does it change our thinking to view our family as a gift for the
purpose of blessing the world?
What
changes to your schedule, priorities, or attitudes would be needed to
make that shift?
No comments:
Post a Comment