God, Kids and the Little Things

God, Kids and the Little Things - Parenting Like HannahIt happened to me again this weekend. In fact, it has happened many times over the years in churches all over the country. As I struggle to take load after huge load of awkward bundles into a church building, I walk past the same people over and over and over.

Maybe one in a thousand offers to help immediately. One out of a hundred offers to help after I pass by three or four times. Most will help if specifically asked, but even then many will help with obvious reluctance. The irony is I would imagine most of those same people just gave a good deal of money to God. They probably nodded in agreement during the lessons. They may have even volunteered to do some odious task for the Church.

Yet when God gave them a tiny opportunity to serve someone, they didn’t even see it. They didn’t mean to be rude or inconsiderate, they were just totally oblivious. It probably doesn’t even sound like a big deal to you. In fact, you are probably wondering what this even has to do with parenting your kids.

You see for your kids to really be able to reflect God’s love accurately to others, to be able to serve the way God intends for them to serve and to share their faith, they need to notice those little things. They need to pick up on the slight change in expression that tells them someone is struggling with something painful. They need to see the lifeless eyes that tells them someone needs God more than ever. They need to notice the lady walking into the building multiple times with large packages.

Because noticing these small seemingly insignificant things, means God can use them to make a meaningful impact on others for God. It means they will serve the people others don’t even notice. It means they can help those wrestling with spiritual issues make godly choices. It means they can encourage someone who is serving God by giving them just a little bit of help.

Training your kids to notice all of those little opportunities God will give them to serve Him will not only help them change the lives of others, but it will help them grow spiritually as well. Because often participating in those opportunities God gives them will allow them to see God working in amazing ways. They will get to see how God helps people not only survive but thrive in circumstances that would cause most to crumble. They will slowly build a level of trust and faith that only comes from seeing God working through them as they do the good works He has planned for them.

In order to do those good works though, they first have to recognize them. In my next post, I will give you some fun ways to help teach your kids how to notice the opportunities God gives them to serve Him in what may seem like tiny ways. Yet often serving God in these little things can make a huge difference for others and for themselves.

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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