June 13, 2020
by Peggy Simmons
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
We once had a lake house at Santee. It was a great place to retreat from all the cares of the world and just relax. They said the sunrise was beautiful over the lake, but I guess I never saw it. Most of the time we are there things are usually quiet and calm. At least most of the time.
Then one year a mother goose built her nest about 10 feet from our dock. Not long after the goslings were born David and I went down to the lake to check on things. As David was walking around the house and checking on the garages, our cocker spaniel and I walked out on the dock. As we got there the mother goose went absolutely nuts. She started squawking and quacking and running at the dog to make sure he wasn’t about to do anything to hurt her babies. Now the dog wasn’t big, but he was bigger than the goose, but that didn’t faze the goose. She had a job to do and she went about doing it.
I was just thinking! Do we protect our children the same way the goose went about protecting hers? Now I know most parents would act just like the goose if they thought their children were in physical danger. Yet are we as protective when our children are in spiritual danger?
Just like a mother goose we have a job to do. Those tiny goslings did not understand the danger of a dog coming near them. Just like our children and teenagers don’t understand the dangers of going with the crowd, trying things that are not morally right, or trying to prove that they know what is best for themselves.
The better foundation we can give our children by instilling a live for God, His word and His church the better prepared they will be when it is time to leave the nest. We would never think about sending our children out into the world uneducated or without a coat in the cold. We make sure they go to school and have the proper clothes to wear.
Yet are we as concerned about their spiritual training? Do we make sure they are in church? Do we read the Bible to them and with them? Do we teach them to pray from their heart and not just recite a blessing at meal time? Proverbs 22:6 reminds us of our responsibility, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Dear Father, help us to be protective parents to guard our children from physical danger but most importantly to guard them from spiritual danger. Help us to teach them to love you, to pray with them, to share scripture with them. Help us to talk to them about you and about your love. Help us to remember that they are constantly growing and will try to leave the nest and try new things. Lord help us prepare them to make good choices and learn to follow you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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