What if our children imitate us?

Every Monday night I meet with a wonderful group of friends to study the word of God...Beth Moore style! This is by far one of my favorite times of the week, and I look forward to it with great anticipation of what the Lord will reveal to me about His word and how He wants to use me. This past Monday, it wasn't Beth Moore as much as another participant in the bible study that God used to speak to me in a very vivid way. He spoke in such a way that settled SO deep into my soul, it was as if He were there in the flesh.

Let me backtrack just a bit to earlier in the afternoon. Beth Moore suggests in this particular study to take a minute each and every day to bow down to Jesus in prayer, forehead to the ground. My favorite place to be when I am seeking God wholeheartedly is in my closet. It isn't a small dark closet, rather it is quite large...but it is quiet. I have had many conversations with God in this closet, and He has answered many prayers while I sat quietly listening for him...in the closet. So, there I was on my knees, face down with my forehead laying heavily on the carpet and my arms outstretched in front of me with the palms of my hands facing heaven...and my 3 year old son walks in. I could hear him coming, but I so just wanted to meet with God at that time and NEEDED to be with Him that I continued to talk to my heavenly father as long as my sweet little guy would let me. He entered the closet and in a quiet, semi-concerned voice asked, "mommy, what are you doing?". As a lifted my head, tears streaming down my face...I answered him. "I'm praying sugar." Because prayer is a daily and very normal routine in our home, he knows this is a reverent time and so as I went back to prayer he laid by my hands and waited for me to finish.

Now, back to the bible study. As we were all getting ready to watch the video, the sounds of the living room were almost comical. Very faintly one could hear the sounds of a breast pump coming from one mommy across the room, the cries of a precious 3 month-old as her mommy tried to settle her after nursing, my car horn honking as I accidentally pushed the panic button on my remote as I tried to move my purse out of the way...and the sweet voice of an almost 3-year-old little girl (who I am quite sure had heard the 'you need to stay in your bed' speech) wanting to be a part of our bible study ready with a pen and her own little pink bible. As I sat there and was in total admiration of the desire to meet with God and learn more about him despite the busy call on their lives as mommies and wives...the curly headed little girl eager to be a part of our group reminded me of just how much our kids take in and model our actions. Then, I was transported back to my closet.

I pray that my son remembers his mommy down on her knees, and I pray that the precious little girl remembers her mommy meeting with friends to learn more about God together. Although her whispers could be heard by those around, we were all mommies and are experts at tuning out in order to tune in! God spoke to my heart in a powerful way, and reminded me of the charge we have as parents to raise our children up to be sold out for Christ...whether it be in the privacy of a closet or in the midst of friends. Let them "make notes" in their bibles, let them enter the study with a group of friends, and let them interrupt your closet prayers. They need to see us actively pursuing Christ...that is one of the behaviors I want my children to imitate more than any other!