It’s been about a month. Things are not really fun. Things are sad (pretty most all the time). Things are hard to think about without the tears welling up and falling down my face as I load and unload my dishwasher. But I’m raising my kids with faith.
Life goes on. I’m functioning. I still laugh when something is funny. I still take my kids to school and dance class and birthday parties. I continue to work. I put all the lights on our tree and enjoyed our family’s annual Christmas tree decorating night.
“HOW ARE YOU FUNCTIONING?” my friends ask. FAITH.
I’m functioning because of my faith. (Thank God. Pun intended.)
And, Christmastime is THE time for tapping into faith, if you ask me.
Growing up, I used to get in trouble in church. My mom was the organist at our Armenian (Christian) church, so my sister and I had no choice but to tagalong with her to early morning services before Sunday School officially started. We’d stand in the first pew, right in front of the organ bench, and giggle loudly… like brats.
This rotten behavior of ours used to rightfully make my mom crazy-angry. She’d stare us down with threatening “You’d better knock it off now” looks while the choir sang and she played her music. One time, a sweet old lady even yelled at my sister and I for making too much noise during the holiest prayer of the service. (Remembering this now, I laugh out loud… even though it’s not funny.) Going to church was an ongoing constant in my childhood. Check the box. I didn’t think much of it.
As a parent I’ve found myself more strongly connected to my faith over the past several years, raising my daughters; believing more, regularly attending church and taking them to (and teaching!) Sunday School in the same way I was raised — all minus the organ-playing. Nobody said taking little kids to church every week is easy — there’s usually a fight about getting dressed and getting out of the house on a non-school day. But, fighting this good fight on Sunday mornings far outweighs the temporary inconvenience.
Whether or not we want to admit it, having faith is a life skill our kids can’t afford to not have. Given my family’s tremendous loss right now, I know I’d feel absolutely lost without my faith.
I don’t ever want my kids to feel like they’re lost.
And the angel said to Mary: Do not be afraid.
Building faith takes time, energy, commitment, diligence and perseverance over a lifetime… from youth, into teen years, through adulthood. Most parents I know what to give our kids everything they might need, as they grow, to cope with life’s inevitable kicks in the gut. I know there might be ebbs and flows with beliefs over my daughters’ lives, but as long as I do my best to give them a consistent and cumulative foundation of faith to learn about and lean on as they grow, we’re all good for the long haul.
Having faith has personally grounded me and kept me positive through my life. I’m living proof right now. I could (and frankly, should) be crunched in a fetal position given what I saw and experienced firsthand these last few months (I won’t give you details, it’s way too personal) — but I’m not. My faith, the same faith I’ve been working on for nearly 40 years and counting, is now allowing me to live and continue and function during this difficult personal time — especially during the holidays.
Anyone who discounts the value of learning and exploring what faith is… is sadly misguided. (I feel bad for them. I do.)
And doesn’t every parent want our kids to feel secure, taken care of and stronger from the inside-out no matter what happens in life? Kids won’t learn it by themselves. It’s up to us to learn and live with faith, to show them how to learn and live with faith, so they can continue to live and function when life kicks them in the guts too.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old, he will not depart from it…” Proverbs 22:6
[…] Take your kids to church and give them the gift of lifelong spiritual strength though faith — a child raised without faith is a travesty. […]