07 January 2010

"I can help daddy"

On a couple of occasions one of our children has overheard Shelli and I talking about financial concerns and responded by putting change into an envelope and giving it to us to "help." Two things hit me in these moments:
  1. I am profoundly moved. It is an instant emotional explosion. Their wholehearted, no-strings-attached, because-I-adore-you response is pure beauty.
  2. It is so small. A buck seventy-three isn't really going to help us pay many bills. What they are capable of bringing is so much smaller than the need and much smaller than I can provide myself.
Today I am overwhelmed by the amount of work I want to do. I can honestly say that much of it is motivated by a love for God. The thought that my Father sees a tattered envelope with a buck seventy-three is at the same time comforting, joy-giving, perspective-providing and energizing.

Well done kids.

Additional Resources
Matthew 14:13-21
Matthew 26:6-13
Mark 12:41-44
John 14:21-13
Luke 13:32
Romans 11:32-36
Hebrews 6:10

3 comments:

  1. I love it! I love your kids, Mitch! Thanks for sharing about how God works through and in your faiily.

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  2. I too have gained so much from the simplistic view of my children...I find it so easy to see God clearly during the moments I connect with my children's world... I am able to more genuinely understand how much God loves us, and supports us even when we aren't doing things just as he would like...he's always there to guide us back to the righteous path he has laid for us. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me.

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  3. Thanks! I'm convinced every responsibility is a sanctifying work of God. Check out "Sacred Parenting" by Gary Thomas and "How Children Raise Their Parents" by Dan Allender for more on that theme w.r.t. parenting. Grace and peace.

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