I was richly blessed to be raised in a good, Christian family. I
was the second-born of four children — two boys and two girls. We are all
spaced out 2 to 3 years apart. Both my parents, Allan and Aileen, and my three
siblings — Stuart, Laureen, and Fiona — remain faithful believers.
My parents, now in their early
seventies, recently visited Georgia for the weekend where Dad was invited to
conduct a seminar for men on how to raise faithful sons and daughters. In
preparation for the retreat, Mom asked if each of us kids (who are now
all in our forties and have families of our own) would share some things that
positively impacted our faith while growing up.
It was interesting to read my siblings’ responses and see
the common threads that have woven a strong faith within us. With his
permission, I would like to share my elder brother’s thoughts with you. Stuart
is a successful businessman in Nashville, has been married to his lovely wife
Melissa for 27 years, and together they share two wonderful children named
Camille and Clark. What follow are my brother’s thought-provoking words:
“There was not any one event or thing that helped keep me on
track to be faithful growing up. I would say it was a combination of parental
example and traits that were passed down to me from as early as I can remember.
My parents did not only show their faithfulness to God through
example but — as equally important — their faithfulness to each other. I truly
believe that the health of a family’s relationship with each other (especially
between the parents) has a direct influence on the children’s relationship
between siblings and the children’s relationship to God.
Being able to see my parents’ joy and anticipation for every
time we met with our church family also meant a lot to me growing up. I never
felt like my parents were going to church or Bible class because they had to.
It was because they wanted to. That made me want to feel the same way and have
that same relationship with God and other church family members.
From a young age, I can remember having the feeling that
everything I had actually belonged to God and not me. I was just responsible
for taking care of what God was letting me use. I am not quite sure where this
state of mind came from. But I would say it was a result of conversations I had
with my parents about how blessed and fortunate we were as a family. I always
knew God was going to take care of things.
Prayer was also a big deal for our family. Praying before meals,
before going to bed at night and for events that we had no control over. I
think this has helped me as an adult because I don’t feel like I have to be in
control all the time. It is OK for me to hand it over to God and let him handle
things. (Like He needs an invitation to do so!) He is always in control. I just
see that more plainly now as an adult.
From a young age, my parents always encouraged us children to
pass (our faith) on. Our love for God should never be something that we keep to
ourselves, but something that is shared with everyone we come in contact with.
I was taught this can be done in several ways — but the most important way was
to live it out.
You can say anything you want with regard to your relationship
with God, but if your day-to-day actions do not line up with your words, your
words will have very little impact to the person you are talking with. It does
not matter what the cover of your book looks like, it is the content of its
pages that makes a difference. No one sees this faster than your kids!
These are just a few things that were handed down to me from my
parents in my younger years. I have been so blessed to have them as mentors,
friends and parents. I have tried to keep these examples and traits alive in my
family, passing them on to my children.
Thanks Dad and Mom — Stuart”
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