There Is More To This Life...

Kids  have trouble seeing the big picture. They sometimes have trouble seeing beyond this moment in time. That is because they are kids and that is how the mind works before maturity teaches us to look down the road or outside of our own little world. I imagine it would be pretty overwhelming to see all that there is to see to a little mind that is still in awe of what currently surrounds them.

As we grow in our faith and travel closer to God we begin to realize that there is more to this life than this life, however, we still need to be reminded. Our lives get full and busy and exhausting and just trying to make it to the end of the day is all we can manage to focus on. But when our focus is on today we lose sight of what really matters. The life we are living here and now is for nothing more than to honor God and bring the eyes of those around us to His greatness. There really is more to this life than this life.

How does this reality play out at home? How are we preparing our children to live with eternity in their sights? Well, the simple answer is, if we are simply focused on making it through the day or the week or the month; getting all the tasks checked off our list; keeping food on the table; making it to all the lessons, meets and meetings; making our bonus at work; paying all the bills; packing lunches and checking homework… then we are not teaching them anything about keeping eternity in their sights.  We are teaching them to exist and be busy and to cover the basics of human life on this planet and forfeiting the most important lesson of all: living in preparation to meet Jesus.

This time of year we reflect on the coming Messiah; Savior of the world. As you walk your children through the story of that first Christmas, be reminded of the reason for His coming; to reconcile all of us to our Creator. That is the reason for Christmas. That is the reason He created us. If walking with Him has lost significance in your life then you are likely living as though you believe there is no more to life than this life. Children will learn to live as they see you live.

As you prepare for the season of Advent, remember to show the children that there IS more to this life than this life and that every day we can live like we are preparing to welcome a living God into our homes. We can give with more joy. We can live with less stress. We can speak with more kindness. We can look with less judgment. We can see with more compassion. Then we will begin to demonstrate for our children what it looks like to live like there is more to this life than this life.