What Happens When You Let Others Watch You Parent?

Back from camp:

We just mobilized our entire family for a week to a summer camp with Teens For Christ. If you’ve ever traveled with children you know that you pretty much need to rent a U-haul due to the amount of “stuff” you have to bring: crib mattress, puzzles, the Lightning McQueen car, personalized water bottles, pack-n-plays, applesauce squeezy pouches, wet wipes, and let’s not forget a pair of baby certified nail clippers!

It would have been easier for me to go to camp for a week and leave Lydia and the kids behind at the house. So why did we go as a family and sign up for breaking our kids routine? The answer is simple: discipleship. So what happens when you let others watch you parent? Discipleship happens.

If you look around you’ll see that many teens, young adults and even grown adults didn’t grow up in a healthy, functioning family. It has never been modeled for them. It is the responsibility of the Church to be “a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.” This means that we live all aspects of life on display for others to see, not out of a spirit of pride, but a spirit of wanting to glorify God and help others find Truth.

It is important for young adults, teenagers, and married couples to watch us in action as a mom or dad. My wife is especially well at this because she will disciple young women over at the house. These young ladies get to see the realities of being a mom: the wrestle with being patient, just how bad poopy diapers can smell, the challenge of maintaining the daily schedule of meals, naps, messes, and activities and on and on.

Letting people see the real you as a family requires security in your identity in Christ.

We’ve made it a point to take our family into public settings. Our goal is not to come across perfect (Lord knows we couldn’t if we tried). Our goal is to model what it looks like to have Jesus as a foundation for our family. They get to see me lose my cool at Lydia and later apologize. They get to see how to discipline disobedient children well and not well. They get to see how a loving family interacts together. Don’t underestimate the importance of letting others see your family in action. There are so many people out there asking the same questions we are asking so let’s help them by opening our lives, going out of our way and being secure enough to let them in.

Next Monday’s topic: How do you communicate the Gospel to a 2-3 year old?