I used to think I wanted successful kids. Part of me still does. When I gather with family or friends, I like to brag about my kids’ most recent accomplishments. Noah, my oldest son, scored five goals in his first soccer game. Micah, my youngest son, scored two. My two-year-old daughter, Jannie Rose, has transitioned better than most adopted kids.
I like you to know these things. Yeah, I want you to know my kids are making stuff happen. But, more than that, I want you to think I’m killing this parenting thing.
But, when I’m alone with God, a different desire surfaces, one the Spirit has for my kids. That desire is that they remain faithful. Faithful to God, yes. But also faithful to their neighbor, their friends, their spouse, their calling. What I want for my kids is for them to remain faithful to their life.
This desire arises only when I’m still. Stillness is the only way we see things clearly. Only then do I see a reality larger than the latest accomplishment.
I see the inevitable winds of suffering that will huff and puff and threaten my kids’ emotional and (possibly) physical foundations. I think about the weight of comparison, rejection and loss that will eventually press down hard on their identity. I think about the relationships they will form. I think about the state of our world as their conscience becomes aware of spiritual things.
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