Train!” I exclaim, pointing at the tracks.
Driving down the road with my 5-year-old son, I often find myself pointing out the trains we pass. Since he was born he, like his dad, has loved trains. As a result, I can name all the characters of Thomas the Tank Engine and Chuggington. I know the best locations for spotting trains in the Twin Cities, and I’ve been to just about every train museum in Minnesota and its surrounding states.
Knowing my son’s love for trains, I learn about them, talk with him about them, and look for places to point them out. I don’t want him to miss these sightings. But I have to wonder: Do I point out God sightings in our world as often as I do trains?
No matter whether they are interested in trains, sports, music, horses, fashion or any of the other countless possibilities, we parents learn, teach and interact with our children, becoming fluent in the language of their interests. Do we spend just as much time becoming fluent in the language of faith?
When I think about what I want my son to have in his heart when he grows up, I could take or leave trains. What I really want him to have is a relationship with God and with Jesus Christ. I want him to know that God’s story is important and that he is part of it. I want him to experience God’s grace and know God’s love. I want him to have a prayer life, a faith life, a love of God.
I want him to know he is a child of God, loved and forgiven, named and claimed.
If I’m so quick to take up my son’s interests, perhaps I should take just as much time and effort to learn to see God’s work in our lives. After all, we have stories to read, knowledge to share and many opportunities for fascinating conversations around faith with our children. The truth is that dropping our children off at Sunday school isn’t enough. They need to worship with us. They need to see us praying. They need to hear the Bible stories in our voices. And they need to know how we articulate our faith, how we answer hard questions and why all of this “stuff” is so important.
Are we pointing out the God sightings in our lives?
It might seem daunting at first, but it’s not that different from pointing out trains. When faith is woven into our everyday lives, God becomes familiar to us. God becomes known to our kids through regular interactions with the divine. So how do we weave a thread of faith into our daily lives?
To begin we must be comfortable talking about faith with our children.
Talking about faith honestly doesn’t mean you have all the answers. “I don’t know” is a wonderful answer to any child’s question, especially when followed by “let’s figure it out together.” When talking about trains with my son, I don’t know all the answers. It’s the same with God.
Likewise, we can point out where God answers our prayers and where God works in our world. If you have trouble seeing it yourself, ask your kids where they saw God today. Often the answers are inspiring and moving.
When you are in the car, ask your children about Sunday school or a worship service. Or tell a story about Jesus. Say a prayer for the ambulance that passes by.
Pray before meals and at bedtime. At the dinner table, share your “blessings” and “burdens” as a family — parts of your day that were wonderful and things that challenged you.
Read a Bible story at bedtime. Give your child a baptismal blessing each night: “(Child’s name), child of God, Jesus loves you and so do I.” Ask your children for prayer requests, and then pray them together.
These don’t take much time, but parents need to be willing to take the lead. Start the habits of faith in your children and in yourself. Point to God in your lives. Welcome our Lord as part of daily, family life, not just during Sunday morning worship.
What relationship do you want your children to have with God when they grow up? That is the relationship we must model now. Trains go where their tracks lead. We lay the tracks for our child’s faith life. So where are you leading them?
