Words are Seeds

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 11:18-19

Eight years ago I became a parent. Eight years ago, the Hand of God began to mold me and shape me into a different vessel than I had been before. Children have a way of doing that to you. I have learned more about my faith and more about my character in the past eight years than I had in the previous twenty-four.

As a parent, I love teaching my children about God. I love finding ways in our day, usually when I least expect it, to teach them something about my faith. Not their faith, my faith. I don't believe I can choose my children's faith. I can't force them to believe the way I believe or worship the way I worship. It is my job to teach my children who God is from my own heart, and my fervent prayer is that they will fall in love with Jesus as they watch me walk with Him.

These sacred words in Deuteronomy are amongst my favorites. They are a reminder that it is my job, as a parent, to teach them about the Word that God has fixed in my mind and heart. I am especially blessed when I hear my children echoing my words back to me, from their own heart, because I know my teaching has been planted there.

It's a big responsibility and privilege, not to be taken lightly. Words are like seeds, whether they are good or bad, the words, once matured in the life of our children, will either produce an abundant harvest of good or evil. I am very careful with my words, though I am not perfect. I've had to apologize to my children on many occasions when I've said something that has hurt them or frustrated them. But, even then, it was a great opportunity to teach them about God and His forgiveness. I remember once I told the girls that when someone says something hurtful, it's like a bad seed has been planted, but when we choose to forgive them, we are pulling that seed out and throwing it away. If we choose not to forgive, that nasty seed will keep growing and causing us trouble, eventually growing such strong roots that it will be even harder to forgive later on.

Recently, we've been planting the seed of integrity in our children's hearts: doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. In a total act of God, our oldest's Sunday School class talked about the very same thing! They used the analogy of a cookie jar, if you take a cookie without asking, and even if mom doesn't see, it's still wrong. When I was tucking her in the other night we had a great conversation about integrity and the very next day she came home and told me that she had talked to her friend on the playground and told her that some of the things she had said weren't true and she wanted to set her friend straight. I was so proud of her, she decided to do this on her own. I told her it took a lot of courage and showed she had integrity. The seed is growing!

Words are so important, especially the Words spoken from the mouth of God, planted in your heart. Talk about them when you go out and when you stay in, when you get up and when you lie down. Plant those seeds of truth into the lives of your children, and when they grow up they will produce a bountiful harvest of blessings in their life, in yours and in the world.

What seeds are you planting in your children's lives right now? What seeds were planted in your heart when you were young? Is it time to pull some of them out?