God is in the Little Things

I know I already posted a book review on Sally Clarkson's book, The Mission of Motherhood, but I wanted to share a couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

Though cultural storms attack violently each day, a solid Christian home can be a protective fortress, a haven of peace for all who live there. Those inside its walls are protected, nurtured, and nourished in body, heart, mind, and soul. Such homes need a director, guardian , and caretaker, which is what God had in mind when he designed the role of mother.

I must choose to believe that it matters that I am choosing to be with my children and slowly build their character instead of pursuing a full-time career where the results of my labor may be more immediately tangible.

Like I mentioned in the review, this book has challenged me to be more "intentional" in my parenting approach. I haven't done anything remarkable or earth-shattering. I've simply tried to "be with" my children more...and I mean actually be with them mentally as well as physically (instead of mentally running through my grocery list or "to do" list while trying to play Candyland, for example). I've also tried to capture more "teachable moments" with my daughter.

Well, God has a funny way of showing me that my minimal efforts are already beginning to pay off. Instead of the usual "I don't know" response to the weekly "what did you learn at church today?" question, we spent the afternoon building the walls of Jericho with sofa pillows, marching around them with a take-home craft tambourine, then plummeting the "walls" to the ground. Maybe it was the hands-on story or the fun tambourine craft, but something made the story stick in my little 3-year-old's brain. The Jericho reinactment was then followed by a "mock" church service complete with heartfelt worship ("Jesus Loves Me"), a powerful sermon, and three baby dedications for her dolls!

I've often found the concept of "playing church" kind of sad...children learning to "go through the motions" rather than discovering a real relationship with God. But what Clarkson's book reminded me is that the "motions" aren't so empty or trite when they come from a heart of sincerity. The goal is to achieve actions that flow out of a relationship. My responsibility is not so much to teach my children what to do or not to do, my responsibility is to model for them a real relationship with God and convey that to them through my relationship with them.

Perhaps I'm overanalyzing (it wouldn't be the first time!). It's likely that my 3-year-old is simply now at a cognitive place where she is capable of remembering and re-enacting a Bible story. But as I watched her bow her head and dedicate her baby doll to Jesus, I couldn't help but feel like God was whispering to my heart, "Look what I can do with a small thing like a little effort on your part."