When Aunty Pat shared this past Sunday, I was reminded of the importance of passing things on to the next generation. When she shared the scripture in Deuteronomy 4:9 (NLT), I was reminded of an experience I had.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (NLT)
9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
When some of the men at Lifespring are feeling nostalgic about how athletic they used to be, they arrange to dust off the old kicks and play basketball in the gym (After acquiring permission from their wives of course).
I remember playing for at least four games before I actively started looking for a substitute so I could sit off and rest. Having Josh Chee on your team is great because he will carry the team but the downfall is that if you keep winning, you don’t get to rest. I don’t remember who I subbed off for but I do remember watching Joe Lee playing his heart out for the last game of the night. He ended up scoring the winning basket and everyone got excited.
What caught my attention wasn’t his rendition of Kobe Bryant’s “turn around fade away” to win the game. It was what was happening on the bench beside me.
Close to the end of the game Hudson came into the gym and sat on the bench I was on. He was watching his dad play and he stayed long enough to watch his Dad score the winning basket. I don’t know if he knew what was going on but once everyone was in an uproar, I could tell he knew something happened.
Everyone including myself was cheering when Joe Lee hit that game winning shot but I saw some people go up to Hudson and say “you know your dad just scored the winning shot” and “your dad just won us the game.” I’m not sure if Hudson could take in what had just happened for us on the bench who were exhausted and ready to go home but there were people all around who told Hudson what his dad had done.
Then I thought to myself, Could this be part of what Kingdom Parenting looks like?
At Lifespring we have had the privilege of hearing people’s testimonies and how they have encountered God in so many different ways. I don’t know about you all but I’ve gained a better understanding of who people are after hearing their testimony and what God has done in their lives.
What if the stories and experience of the people at Lifespring were not just shared on the pulpit but in our everyday conversations. What if the memories and experiences of what we have seen God do in us and others weren’t forgotten but were passed on to our children and our grandchildren?
I thought to myself, what would it be like to tell some of the children of Lifespring who their parents were to me. How could I share what I’ve seen for myself and not let the memories of them escape my mind? How could I share how they’ve pointed me to Christ by being who they are?
I thought maybe I’d say something like:
Lucas, “Did you know your dad used to give me rides when I had no ride?”
Ben, “Did you know your dad is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”
Sophia, “Did you know your dad taught me how to intercede for people.”
Elias, “Did you know your dad is the bravest guy I know.”
Olivia, “Do you know how genuine your dad is?”
Adelaide, “Do you know how solid of a person your dad is?”
Just to name a few…
Those of course are not testimonies but they are subtle reminders of the stories, memories and experiences I’ve gotten to witness, hear and know to be true that cannot be unseen, untold and unheard. Maybe they are just conversation starters to get them to ask questions about why I would say such things? Maybe they’re just too young to get it right now so it’s better to just plant the seed?
I don’t have kids of my own but I do know that when I was working with kids I realized that kids are more likely to listen to others rather than their parents. When I was a kid, it was true for me.
Imagine if the people of Lifespring shared with your kids about how your life has impacted them? That’s a lot of seeds being deposited in them. That’s a lot of watering you wouldn’t need to do.
I’ll be honest with you. I tried it with Lucas one day when I was locking up the Church. He wanted to shut off the lights with me and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to tell him about how great his parents were but all that came out of my mouth was “Hey, you know you got some pretty cool parents” and He was like “yea…I know.” It was very anticlimactic.
It was probably more awkward for me than it was for him to be honest but let’s be real most things that are new to us will be. Take sharing testimonies on a Sunday. It was probably awkward at first but now at Lifespring we have people share testimonies almost every week.
This isn’t because we want to boast about how special we are but I believe it’s because we genuinely love God and genuinely care for others. It’s not for our sake but for Christ’s sake so that He may get the glory.
I pray that the people of Lifespring would continue to pass on the experiences, memories, testimonies and stories of all the things that God has done in them and through others. I pray that our children and grandchildren would never forget what they’ve seen, heard and were told.