It’s hockey season again. That one time every year where I’ll inevitably get asked “So are you guys gonna keep trying for a boy!?”. As father of 3 girls, and avid hockey fan, it seems like an obvious choice.
Nevertheless, nope. 3 Girls is a great number, and they do a pretty good job of reflecting me on the scale of a toddler. A couple nights ago, in our small group, we talked about our children picking up things from us. Sometimes we don’t realize just how much they’re paying attention, until we’re blindsided by seeing ourselves in something they do or say. It’s inevitably going to happen, because they’re developing and growing daily, and spending time in our presence. Learning to value what we value. Learning to say what we say. Learning to respond to life in the same ways we respond to life. Learning to spend time doing what they see us doing.
So even though I don’t anticipate having a child to teach how to pee standing up, I do recognize my daughters are constantly seeing how I live my life, and how our family/home is ordered. They’re learning what to value, and how to communicate that value.
It seems like God recognizes that about us as well, and invites us into His presence. Jesus was called “Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. ” He spends time with us, knowing that without that – it’s hard for us to reflect Him into a world that is thirsty for God’s image. He knows, because he’s created in a similar way. He shares with us in John 5:19,
“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
I want to spend time in God’s presence, believing that even when I can’t see him magically answering all the prayers I bring to Him, merely the act of spending time with Him can influence/transform my ability to reflect His image into creation/my home. Whew…that’s a long sentence. Really just a long way of saying, the more time I spend in God’s presence, the more prepared/resourced I am to carry God’s image into creation. The more I’m able to do that, the greater our ability for our home to be a place our children learn to carry that same image.
Heck…it seems to work well with hockey so far…:) Game On.
words from wick 
Great post! Thanks for stopping by.
Loved it!!
“I want to spend time in God’s presence, believing that even when I can’t see him magically answering all the prayers I bring to Him, merely the act of spending time with Him can influence/transform my ability to reflect His image into creation/my home.” Like this a lot. I happen to like long sentences:) Great post!