Using Every Moment
“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” - John Wesley
No matter what side of the debate you're on about mother's and father's roles in the family, it's a fact that children generally spend more time with their mother than with their father... especially in early childhood. Whether you stay home with your children or you work outside the home, as a mother you will likely be with your children more than your husband will.
What does that mean? It means both parents, but especially moms, have a greater impact on our little ones than we will ever know.
John Welsey said his mom taught him more about Christianity than all the theologians in England. He saw how his mom lived day in and day out. She taught him the ways of the Lord, and it impacted him for the rest of his life.
We have opportunities to teach our children the ways of God, to "raise our children in the fear and instruction of the Lord" when we sit and teach them God's word, when we're driving in the car, when we're playing outside, and when we're teaching them to clean up their messes. Moments to teach are everywhere! We just need to be present in the moment so we don't miss them.
A few weeks ago my children and I read in the Bible about the wide and narrow gates. I explained what that meant and we kept reading. A few days later we were on the way to worship service and we saw some people at the park. My daughter noticed them too and said "some people don't go to church." So I agreed and told her that some people don't believe in the Lord and so they don't go to church... then I got to thinking about what we read a few days earlier. I mentioned that the people who don't believe are going through the wide gate, and if the people at the park don't believe in Christ, then they are going through the wide gate. And I shared how we are going through the narrow gate because we believe in the Lord Jesus.
After that she started pointing out other examples on her own about people going through the wide or narrow gate! I think her seeing the Word played out in real life helped... having a tangible example of something we read about in the Bible only a few days before.
The example we saw on the way to the service was an opportunity to bring what we read in the Bible to life in the mind of my daughter, and if I wasn't paying attention I would have missed it!
Parents, and especially mamas, we have been given a wonderful privilege of raising a godly generation. Let's take hold of it, with the help of the Lord, and do the best we can to teach our children His ways.