By Deacon Jessica Noonan (she/her), Associate Director at LEAD
My youngest daughter started confirmation this past week and was full of questions after the first lesson. Then, just two days later she was talking with a friend at school about her friend’s First Communion which led to another faith conversation about how we understand communion as Lutheran Christians versus our Catholic Christian friends. Last night after bedtime prayer with my daughter she was telling me about the video they watched about Christianity in their social studies class as they were looking at world religions. She said, “Guess what? They were saying the same prayer we say in the background of the video!” Which led to further discussion about this being a prayer known to all Christians and comes from Jesus.
All of these wonderful conversations about faith, belief, different traditions reminded me how much I take for granted what my children know or don’t know. Worship and faith practices have been central in our family’s life and still there are so many more opportunities to share the “why” of what we do with my children. That is the gift we have to offer as parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents, and faithful adults in a child’s life. We can talk about the little things and big things of our faith. We can create opportunities to tell the stories of our faith and look for those windows to have discussion about the movement of the Holy Spirit in and around us.
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the Israelites are given instructions about how to share the commandments with their children. This text has always been a guide for my understanding of my role as parent, youth minister, and adult in a child’s life:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 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.
I wonder, how are you creating opportunities with the children in your life? Share your thoughts and ideas so we can learn from each other as we intentionally shape the faith of the children in our lives.
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