By Ginny (MAD21)
Something happened last week that made my heart ache. I was sitting in the waiting room while my girls were in gymnastics class. The room is usually pretty chaotic with kids running around and parents coming and going. I was concentrating on my book so I wasn't listening to any particular conversation going on around me. But suddenly I found myself tuning into a woman sitting near me. It was one of those moments when it seems that everything slows down and the room goes quiet except for the thing that got your attention.
I looked up to see who was talking. It was a mother I had seen there before. She is one of those ladies who once she starts talking to you, you are committed to listening to for the duration of your time together. Don't get me wrong, she's a nice lady, but she obviously loves to talk and will do so as long as she thinks she has someone's attention.
We had all been in the waiting room for some time, probably about half an hour. The woman had been talking to the lady sitting next to her and to anyone else within earshot. I vaguely remember hearing about car repairs and sick kids, but that isn't what really what made me take notice of their conversation. I'm not sure what they were talking about that led them to this particular topic, but she began to describe an experience she and her family had when visiting a church.
I didn't hear why they were at the church, but it seemed like a recent visit. She liked having her young children go to Sunday school to help teach them morals. I think this is what initially got my attention. As a person who has worked in Children's Ministry for years and is passionate about planting seeds of faith in their hearts, this really bothered me. I'm glad the mother likes to take her children to Sunday school, but there is more to God and faith than good morals. However, that wasn't what upset me.
The lady said the church was nice and they really enjoyed going. She said that after the service, a staff member started talking to them. At one point they asked if this lady and her family were believers. As she was relating the story to her chair neighbor, she said, "I told them we don't belong to a church... It's a good thing they didn't ask my daughter directly. If they only knew what her college paper was on... my daughter is an atheist, and she's very passionate about it." Her discussion trailed off from there.
I found myself getting more and more upset about her matter-of-factness when describing her atheist daughter. As if the final destination of her soul was on the same level as car repairs and daily routines. As if this choice to not believe in God was as important as what course to study in college or what house to buy. How could this mother not care where her daughter will spend eternity? How could she not care that her daughter not only rejects the love of God, but denies His very existence?
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
When I look into the eyes of adults who don't know the One who loves them most, the One who sacrificed everything for them, my heart aches. They could be living a good life or making terrible choices, but I can't help but see them as a young child who's faith was lacking in some way. Perhaps it was because they never heard the Truth, or family or friendships led them astray, or the temptations of life were just too great. Either way, they were all once a clean slate, a child waiting for the Truth to be written on their hearts, and for the people around them to show them the love of God. The world got in the way.
Every time I hear stories like this woman's, I can't help but think of these lyrics sung by Amy Grant so long ago:
"I call you on the phone
But you're not at home
Where do you go when you're hurting?
I hear you're down again
Lost the will to win
Why do you run when your hurting?
Oh, where do you hide your heart?
It's easy to say you don't believe in God when all is right in your world, but what happens when everything falls apart? Where do you go? As a parent, I know that I will not be around every moment that my children are hurting, need help with decisions or complicated situations, or are just so happy that they think they will explode. It's important to me that I plant those seeds of Truth in them so that when they are old enough to own their own faith, they will truly understand Jesus' sacrifice for them. They will have been told of the great love our Father has for them, who will be there for them every second of every day of their lives. As the song goes on to say:
"Leave the hurt behind you
Love has found you now
And he'll never let you go
Oh, you've got to know
That Jesus will not leave us now
So leave your cares behind..."
I know that even in the best of situations, people go astray. People who grew up with loving, believing parents with good friends. But once the Truth is planted, it never goes away. It tugs on your heart no matter how far away from it you try to run.
We can't force our children to make good choices in their lives. We can't force them to have faith in God. But we can be sure they know the Truth and we can love them the way God wants us to. We are their most influential example. Live the way you want your children to live. Make the choices you want them to make. Have the faith you want them to have.
And pray, pray, pray...
"A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining [training] them." (Proverbs 13:24)
This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Peter Pollock's place.
Be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Sacrifice.