Heritage

Deuteronomy 11:19 “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” ESV

Today is my parents’ 40th anniversary. It doesn’t seem possible in many ways, the chiefest of being that it means they’re getting older. To me, my daddy has always been strong, able-bodied, and steadfast. The fact that they’re getting older pains me. I have to confess, the following thought has crossed my mind more than a few times: When they die, who will pray for me? From my earliest memories, I recall family prayer time, prayers around the table, prayers by the bedside of our sick family members (including me), and a confident assurance of their faith in God. For whatever need we are/were facing, they always have complete faith that God will come through. The spiritual heritage I have is incredible, and I strive every day to pass it on to my children. 

I love the direction given in our Scripture today. We often joke that kids don’t come with instruction manuals, but in a way, we already have the instruction manual. All we have to do is take every available opportunity to teach them about Christ, live it out in our own lives, and trust God to lead and guide them. 

From the time my husband I realized we were going to be parents, we have tried to live out Deuteronomy 11:19 with our children. We talk about our faith, trust, and hope in God every chance we get and are careful to give God glory for all that He does in our lives. Our home is filled with reminders of His Word, music that exalts Him, and opportunities for them to learn about Him. Let me be clear before I go on. NOTHING in this world is more important or can substitute for a spiritual heritage. God designed our society to live in families from the beginning of creation. And He has been clear in His Word that spiritual training is of utmost importance to our children’s upbringing. We only get one chance to raise our children; there are no do-over’s, and we’ve got to get this part right. They desperately need to know that God’s Son died to save them and that His blood will give them strength for whatever they may face in life.

As I’ve grown in my relationship with Christ, and He has confronted me with my need to care for the body He created, I realize that my children also need a physical heritage. The culture in which we live pushes its agenda upon our children to make themselves happy. Whatever feels good, tastes good, looks good, and is comforting must be good, right? Wrong. Our children will not exercise or choose to eat healthy on their own. Let’s face it. When faced with the decision to eat a iced, sprinkle-topped cupcake or apple slices, which one looks more appealing to a child? When faced with the decision to play video games on the couch or ride their bicycle on a hot day, which would you choose? We’ve got to take opportunities to encourage them to care for their bodies, secondary to their souls.

If we are going to raise our children to follow Christ, they need good vehicles with which to minister. I ministered for many years in a broken vehicle, and it was hard. The funny thing about it is, I really didn’t realize how hard life was until I was no longer overweight. How much more I could’ve done for the cause of Christ if I had the energy I have today! How much more I could’ve done for the cause of Christ if I had felt this good all of those years I wasted. 

So as we walk along the walking trail at the park, ride along on our bicycles on the bike trail, and eat healthy dinners together around the table, we talk of God’s goodness. We talk about God’s protection before we get much-needed rest at night, and we pray together, trusting God for our future and praising Him for our past. All the while, we endeavor to model healthy living. I think God is pleased.

Encouragement for Today

Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward.” ESV

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ESV

Failure

Proverbs 24:16 “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” NLT

Everything I’ve ever been good at, I’ve had to work extremely hard to conquer. I’m a failure. It’s true. I’ve failed at it all. I wish that my failures had been great learning moments. I wish they hadn’t been so sloppy, so ugly, so dramatic, but the truth is, I didn’t take failure very graciously. When I fail, I fall hard...very hard. Anger, tears, and frustration blow up and threaten to blow away any poor soul that happens to be in my path at that moment. 

That’s why the first day I tried to ride my bicycle on the bike trail was so hard. For starters, it was at the end of June, and it was hot. Strike one. Secondly, there was a little incline coming back. Strike two. Going down it was a breeze, literally, going down hills on a bike is glorious! It’s the coming back up part that stinks. My family had been riding a whole 15 minutes when we decided to turn around and go back to the house. Everything was going okay. I was determined to make it, marking 30 minutes of bike riding down on my activity log. And then I saw the incline (not even really a hill) looming before me. Already sweating, drops trickled in my eyes, and it stung. My legs were like rubber bands, gasping for air, I was determined that I would. not. quit. It wasn’t going to happen. I was going to make it up this hill, and I would be victorious. Half the battle was mental, right? And I was going. to. make. it. But I didn’t make it. I was about 3/4 of the way up when the nausea took over, and it was out of my control. Strike three. There was nothing I could do. I sat there on the side of the bike trail in the tall grass, so frustrated and embarrassed. “How many people saw that,” was the first thing I said to my husband when he got to where I was kneeling. He assured me that it didn’t matter who saw it, but it sure mattered to me! I recovered a little, walked the rest of the way up the hill, and then rode my bike on the flat part of the road back to our house. When would my new strength take over and my weakness end? I had failed. Again.

In these few verses of Proverbs, the writer gives us a bit of wisdom. Everybody fails from time to time. What separates us from others is how we handle that failure. The godly won’t allow a setback to keep them down, while the ungodly only need one difficulty to knock them out. Just like fitness, times will come in our spiritual lives that threaten to knock us down. The test is whether we will get back up and keep going. The writer of Proverbs uses “seven times” in this verse to represent the many times that a person must rebound from difficulties in life. Times like these will come, be sure of that, but we must keep pressing on.

Have you failed yet? I’m sorry to put that question so bluntly, but we sure that it’s going to happen. I’m not saying to go looking for failure, but don’t be so hard on yourself when it does. Embrace the experience, learn all you can, and get back up. 

Encouragement for Today

Psalm 73:26 “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow wek, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”  NLT

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” NLT