my son to have in his heart when he grows up, I could take or leave trains. What I really want him to have is a relationship with God and with Jesus Christ. I want him to know that God’s story is important and that he is part of it. I want him to experience God’s grace and know God’s love. I want him to have a prayer life, a faith life, a love of God. I want him to know he is a child
of God, loved and forgiven, named and claimed. If I’m so quick to take up my son’s
“
Finding faith tracks T
How families become fluent in the language of faith By Elizabeth Morgenstern Paul
rain!” I exclaim, pointing at the tracks. Driving down the road
with my 5-year-old son, I oſten find myself pointing out the trains we pass. Since he was born he, like his dad, has loved trains. As a result, I can name all the characters of Tomas the Tank Engine and Chug- gington. I know the best locations for spotting trains in the Twin Cities, and I’ve been to just about every train museum in Minnesota and its surrounding states. Knowing my son’s love for trains, I learn about them, talk with him
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www.thelutheran.org
about them, and look for places to point them out. I don’t want him to miss these sightings. But I have to wonder: Do I point out God sight- ings in our world as oſten as I do trains? No matter whether they are inter-
ested in trains, sports, music, horses, fashion or any of the other count- less possibilities, we parents learn, teach and interact with our children, becoming fluent in the language of their interests. Do we spend just as much time becoming fluent in the language of faith? When I think about what I want
interests, perhaps I should take just as much time and effort to learn to see God’s work in our lives. Aſter all, we have stories to read, knowledge to share and many opportunities for fascinating conversations around faith with our children. Te truth is that dropping our children off at Sunday school isn’t enough. Tey need to worship with us. Tey need to see us praying. Tey need to hear the Bible stories in our voices. And they need to know how we articulate our faith, how we answer hard ques- tions and why all of this “stuff” is so important. Are we pointing out the God
sightings in our lives? It might seem daunting at first,
but it’s not that different from point- ing out trains. When faith is woven into our everyday lives, God becomes familiar to us. God becomes known to our kids through regular interac- tions with the divine. So how do we weave a thread of faith into our daily lives? To begin we must be comfortable
talking about faith with our children. Talking about faith honestly
doesn’t mean you have all the answers. “I don’t know” is a wonder- ful answer to any child’s question, especially when followed by “let’s figure it out together.” When talk- ing about trains with my son, I don’t
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