Getting it...

I spend many minutes scattered throughout each day trying to teach our kids Biblically based life lessons and I so enjoy some of the small, teachable moments where I can see the lights come on in their little eyes. That little light that shows me, yes, they're getting it.

One of the lessons that we spend a lot of time on is putting others first. We speak about the scripture, Matthew 19:30, where Jesus tells us that those of us who are first here on earth will be last in heaven. But, those who are last will be first. We talk about how we are Kingdom people and although we are here now, we will live for eternity in God's Kingdom. With that, we should strive to put ourselves last and serve Him, serve others, to let others go before us and to treat others well.

Today, as we were driving around on our errands, it was Colton's turn to sit in the front seat. In our family, riding shot gun is like winning the lottery. During the school year, we actually have a seating chart and each week a different child gets to sit in the coveted front seat.  With it being summer, it's currently a free for all. So, I announced to the kids that it was Colton who got to sit in the front seat today. He looked at me and said, "It's okay mom, I'll sit in the back. Buck can sit in the front."

Wow, I was dumbfounded. This has never happened. We drove around and reached our final errand of the day. I again told Colton that he was welcome to move up to the front for the ride home. He looked around and made sure that everyone was okay with that and even asked if anyone else wanted to. I'm fairly sure the other kids were also in shock, because they just shook their heads no and watched him walk to the front seat. As he climbed in and buckled up, I couldn't help but ask him why he was being so generous with the front seat.

He looked at me with a very serious face and said, "I wanted to let the other kids go in front of me because I want to ride up front when I get to heaven." 

Comments

[Randall]

Hey Sheila…… looks like you have the “night owl” thing going on, unless you’re tinkering with the clock on your computer! I hope others feel as giddy about the Colton story as I do. It is a simple but sound validation that your parenting style is giving your children a strong set of Christian values at a very young age. Of course, I already knew just from talking with Audra and from spending so much time with Sierra that they both have a solid moral compass guiding them in their thoughts and attitudes. I figured Wade and you had a hand in it, and, as your Colton story confirms, obviously you did :-) In today’s society, it seems to have become the norm for parents to either regard their children as an inconvenience (hence not being worthy of parental time, trouble, teaching or affection) or as an extension of the parent’s own ego (hence the focus on worldly things for their children such as money, position, and power). It’s wonderful to see you guiding your family through life utilizing God’s Word as stated in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Can’t go wrong following that advice :-)

[S]

Thanks, Randall, your kind words always make my day! Not normally a night owl, I was up a little late last night. The time, because the web host is in NY, posts as ET which is a couple hours ahead of us. I've actually been trying to figure out how to drop the time from the posts and just leave the date. Haven't gotten there yet.

Yes, the Deuteronomy scripture you mention speaks loudly to me and we, in our home, have always tried to use teachable moments to make an impact on the hearts of our kids. It's so rewarding when we "see" those moments bare fruit. We have such a short time to impart wisdom to them before they fly. I feel like it's all those little lessons that really pave the narrow road we pray they will follow on their own someday.