The Minefield

I helped in my daughter’s second grade class today.
It was such an incredible blessing to be there.
They are amazing children.

The children were writing non-fiction stories.
I was there to conference with them before they wrote their final draft.
Even when a simple topic was chosen, their viewpoint was so refreshing.

I found myself praying for the children as I listened to them read to me.
I prayed for them to know the Lord…to resist temptation.
I prayed that the confidence I saw today gets reinforced…not squelched by the world.
I prayed that they would make a difference.

The back cover, of their soon to be published story, had a few sentences about the author.
That meant they had to write about themselves.
To hear them tell me: I am really good at math; I like to write about all sorts of information; I like animals and want others to know what I know about them.

So innocent…so truthful…so hopeful!

Lord, use these precious children for Your glory.
Protect them from the evil one.

I remembered someone told me once that when you raise children, you are simply to get them through a minefield.
If you maneuver them through the minefield successfully, you have done your job!

I remember cringing when I heard that statement.
Getting them through a minefield?
According to this person…it meant making sure they did not get pregnant, they did not do drugs, they did not drink.

Though morality and self-control are vital to teach, it is not the most important thing.
First and foremost, our children need to know God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
They need to know Him through His word.
They need to learn how to serve Him…and how to obey His commands.

The Ten Commandments that seem so daunting to memorize as a child.
I learned a wonderful way to teach my children when they were young.
It is important to find creative ways to hide God’s Word in their heart.

You can sing the Ten Commandments to the tune of Do Re Mi.
(taken from Let’s Hide the Word by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson)

One-Don’t worship other gods
Two- No graven images
Three-Don’t take God’s name in vain
Four- The Sabbath is for rest
Five- Respect your family
Six- Don’t ever, ever kill
Seven- Be faithful to your spouse
Eight- Don’t steal
Nine- Don’t lie
Ten- Don’t wish for other’s things

The Ten Commandments…taught…is orthodoxy…correct belief.
The Ten Commandments…lived out…is orthopraxy…correct action.

God gives further instructions to parents in His Word.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:5-8)

Teaching God’s standards to our children is ongoing….day by day…minute by minute.
That training is breathed in as you go about your days together.
It is talking and listening…it is asking questions and answering questions.
It is opening God’s word and reading it together…and doing what it says!

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
(Proverbs 22:6)

Children are teachable…impressionable.
Whose impression is being left on their lives?
Whose imprint is on their soul?

When I was working with the children today, they had to briefly tell about their story.
This synopsis was to go on the back cover.
It was difficult for some of them to shorten their summary to one or two sentences.

I prayed for ways to help them understand.
If I was in the library, and I pulled your book off the shelf, what would the back cover say that would make me want to read it?
The light bulb seemed to go on.
They got the concept…perhaps a little too well…as on and on they went.

One little girl wrote a wonderful story.
As she gathered her things to go back to her seat I said one more thing to her.
You know, I would take your book off the shelf at the library and read it. It is very good!

As the children lined up for lunch, this little one came over to me and said, “Mrs. G…thank you for telling me that you would pick my book. I like that you said that!”

She was gone…leaving the room to eat her lunch.
The warmth of her smile remaining in the air.

Those few words meant so much to her.
Those few words told her she mattered…she had a gift…and I appreciated it.

I thought about the minefield as I drove home.
The enemy would like us to focus on the explosive mines that he threatens to detonate at any time…in order to render us ineffective.

How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you…Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:19, 21)

God is the only One to take us safely through the minefield of this fallen world.
Without Him, it is indeed a hazardous journey.