Leaving an Imprint on Our Kids
Recently a friend told me this sweet story, and it blessed me so much I wanted to share it with you.
These are his words, and this is a true story:
One day my son Christopher and I were driving back from his last day of his freshman year of college. He was particularly animated that day…perhaps due to the excitement of finishing his first year of school or the joy of summer vacation beginning! Nonetheless, he leaned in toward me as we were on the 91 Freeway and asked, “Dad, what do you think was the most important thing we ever did together?”
Now, I love those types of questions. Reflective. Conversational. And I had put in a fair amount of work to create experiences and memories that would help shape his manhood. I couldn’t wait to get a pat on the back, if I’m to be perfectly honest!
“Was it your coming of age celebration at your 13th birthday?” I asked.
“Nope” was the reply.
“Was it your 18th birthday celebration?”
“Strike two!”
“Was it the surf trip we had with your buddies and their dads?” I asked sheepishly.
“Dad, I’ll give you a clue. It was nothing you planned.”
I admit I was more than a bit crestfallen. I had sunk a fair amount of time and energy into creating some memorable moments for my son in an attempt to build a strong foundation for him as he rode into his manhood. I was beginning to feel like I had failed.
I shrugged. “I give up. Tell me.”
“Dad, it was the time I got caught stealing Steve’s pocket knife and you had to come pick me up from his house. And you didn’t judge me. You showed me grace, even though I was guilty and you were the pastor of the church we all attended.”
I was stunned.
I had completely forgotten that moment that had happened some four years earlier. We drove a while in silence as I processed the weight of the moment. One that I had never experienced with MY father, and the fear of rejection that I carried well into my adult years as a result. I rejoiced that God had made a moment that I had not prepared for, and yet had been preparing for my whole life.
May we have who been forgiven much…love much, and may the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus abound in us and through us! You never know when a moment like this will arise!
Thanks for reading, friend! I leave you with this:
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”
-Romans 8:1-4
Lucille Williams is the author of “From Me to We” and “The Intimacy You Crave: Straight Talk about Sex and Pancakes” order a copy today to enhance your marriage. Subscribe to LuSays.com for weekly encouragement.
