My daughter is a dancing machine, seriously if there is any music to be heard, she is shaking her groove thing to the beat. At Church, she has initiated a toddler dance team that gathers together in praise each Sunday morning in the front corner of the church during morning praise. I will be honest, at first I was the hard nosed mom shhhing her and telling her to sit still not wanting to "bother" anyone else attending the service. I should also mention that she used to dread going to church. But after reading the book "Heaven is for Real" and seeing the description of the children dancing and laughing joyfully with our Lord Jesus Christ, my heart turned. It dawned on me that this was my daughter's way of Praising the Lord-by being herself. Just this morning when I told her she could not watch her beloved Zaboomafoo but rather, had to get ready for church she perked up and proclaimed "this is gonna be fun!" Why Do I want to train her towards social conformity's when even David proclaims "I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." (2 Samuel 6:21-22.) Jesus himself honored the faith of children before his scoffing disciples when he welcomed them into his presence saying “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14) God has taught me so much through the faith of my own young children. My heart pounds deeply when my daughter reminds me that "we need to pray" before we eat our meal. Or sits on her bed and folds her hands anticipating our nightly prayer. She loves anything Jesus, and cried when we put away the nativity scene. This is what I want for my children, JOY IN THE LORD! This morning while Brandon was doing the call to worship before the sermon, I was nearly brought to tears thinking about my children's future. Zechy wiggled free from my arms and ran to the pulpit towards his daddy. Brandon picked him up whereupon Zechy grabbed the microphone and said "Ah-men" stealing the attention of the congregation. It gave me a glimpse into how we are raising our kids. Most mom's may want their children to grow up rich and successful, but I just want my kiddos to grow up happy and in the Lord. I desire that my children crave the affections from our living king, and choose to glorify him with their lives. How wonderful would it be to see my son a Pastor, or even better yet: all three of my children grow up serving Christ in the mission fields? Surely I would miss them being far apart from me, but what an honor to know that they were fulfilling their life purpose? I want to believe that my thrill in globe trotting could be passed on to the next generation through such adventurous lives.
Below is a video off Brandon's phone of what I am blessed to see at church.
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