I stand at a crossroads with my job as mom! As with any job, roles change as the years go by. My job as a parent is to teach my children in the ways of God and raise them up to be God fearing. Now that Kayla stands on the brink of the “real world” and will soon begin to “adult” I hope and pray that she has a foundation that is stronger than what awaits her in the world.
The parenting philosophy Howard and I use is located in scripture. It comes from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. It is called The Shema. This word in Hebrew means “to hear.” The Shema is a declaration of faith used by the Jewish people and one Howard and I use as a guide as we raise our children to have a foundation in Jesus.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 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. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
The opening line is a call to God to hear us, his people. It declares that we are people who serve and love God and God alone. This is the prayer for my children that they always know and recognize God and let everything else fall away. Howard and I pray that God is first in everything in their lives.
Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
This statement is the desire I have for my children. I want them to fully and completely love God with everything they have! It’s more than an intellectual faith. Its more than a feeling faith. The love we should have for God is all encompassing. In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus also said this in response to the Pharisees’ question on what the greatest commandment is. Jesus tells us everything hinges on this.
Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
If Jesus tells us it all comes down to this, then it is extremely important I pass this on to my children and live a life worthy of this to show my children how we are to love and live with God at the helm of our lives.
The Shema continues on telling us when and how to talk to our children about God. It is abundantly clear that we as parents are to impress upon our children God’s love for them All. The. Time.
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. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
When we are at home or out and about in the world, God is to be flowing from our lips and heart. We are to use our encounters in the world and people in our path to share and teach about God to our children. If blogs and tag lines were a thing back in the writing of Deuteronomy the tagline would easily be: Real Faith in Real Life. This is the heart of the tagline for Holy Mustard. Real Faith in Real Life!
Howard and I have always been very practical in our faith. We believe if it is not accessible then it is useless. We want to use everyday things just like Jesus did to teach and grow faith in our children and others. We have always talked with our children about what’s in the news and about their school days and the people and situations they encounter. However, it is not enough to just listen and hear them talk about their day. As Christian parents we have to take their thoughts, feelings and experiences and put God in the midst of it and help them see how God is ever present in their lives and how He works through their lives.
When our children tell us about their day, we ask questions about where God was in what they are telling us. We share with them our wisdom and knowledge of God in relation to what they have told us. This is living a practical real life faith and teaching our children how faith is woven in their daily lives.
When our children begin to see God is with them in every moment they begin to know and trust Him in all parts of their lives. They begin to live as if the Shema were tied to their forehead. It is ever present on their hearts and minds and my prayer for my children is that their first thought is always GOD!
As Kayla stands on the brink of a new chapter I hope she will take the Shema in her heart and live it daily. As her mother I will continue to impress upon her how to love God and remind her how He is constantly there in each circumstance and situation. I will also now begin to encourage her to walk that road independently and pray her foundation is strong enough that she will continue to walk a life worthy of God and desire to continue to live with God infused in every aspect of her life.
Kayla may you continue to unite your heart with God in your days at college and beyond.