Where Relationships Begin

This is a post from Karen Walther, our Preschool Minister at The Brook. I hope it challenges & encourages you as it did me. Thanks Karen!

Yesterday I was driving to Atlanta. It’s always nice to be in the car by myself for a long drive because it gives me time to think. Most days I do my thinking in 5 minute increments, which isn’t long enough to finish one thought normally. On the drive I started thinking about the stress times in our home. We have most of our melt-downs and arguments in our mudroom as we try to either enter or leave home. Why is this? 

I think a big part of it is ME. I am a Type-A/task-oriented/organized/structured individual. Add that to three young children who are doing three different things, trying to have three different conversations with me and the outcome is not usually pretty. Big realization on the drive today: I often put my to-do lists and my schedule before a relationship with my children (hanging my head with shame). 

When they get home from school, they have their routines of putting away lunches, book bags, and homework. I try to get this done before they start telling me about their day. WHY? My thinking was that if they get their stuff done, then we can have a nice conversation without anything we need to do pressuring us. In reality, I am squelching their enthusiasm – and our relationship – by not making the time for them and putting my desires first. And that time of uninterrupted, nice conversation…it rarely ends up happening.

My relationship with my children is a common reflection of my relationship with God. I wake up with things already piled on my plate and the race begins. It’s all about my schedule for the day or what I think I need to do. How many times do we ask God what He would like us to do that day? If we took the time to ask, I wonder how differently our days would look. By not looking for a relationship with our Father first thing in the morning, I am squelching our relationship and what He wants to tell me as well.  If we are to have loving, selfless relationships with others, we have to start with a dedicated, passionate, and selfless love for God. This is where relationships begin.

If we are desiring for our children to grow into a passionate relationship with their Father, we have to take our relationship withour Father very seriously. They are watching us. Listening to us. Looking for a difference in our lives. What are your children seeing when they look at you?