In Over Their Heads?
Theme for the Week: Spiritual Direction for Your family
Olivia Bruner
Tuesday, July 17, 2001
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge (Proverbs 14:26).
Bonus Reading: Deuteronomy 11:18-21
When our son Shaun was about four, he walked too far toward the deep end of a hotel swimming pool while I was momentarily distracted. He panicked as he began to swallow water. Thankfully, an older boy saw and pulled him to safety. Shaken, I immediately enrolled him in swimming lessons. For several months, I drove Shaun 15 miles each way three days per week to swim class. It was a hassle. But soon he could tread water well enough to keep himself afloat.
In an era in which objective truth has been replaced by subjective opinion, many, like Shaun in the deep end, are frightened, thinking there might not actually be anything in particular to believe in. We want something better for our kids. We refuse to shove them into the deep end of life without first teaching them how to swim. We want them to know there is something to believe in:
- A personal, loving God who created them for relationship.
- Timeless truth to frame the choices they'll face and explain life's circumstances.
- A profound hope found only in Jesus, which can overshadow the deepest despair.
Olivia Bruner in The Family Compass Respond:
One way I plan to prepare kids for the "deep end" is .
Thought to Apply:
The time for teaching and training is preteen. When they reach the teenage years, it's time to shut up and start listening.
Ruth Bell Graham
Adapted from: The Family Compass (Chariot Victor, 1999)
For your convenience, The Family Compass is available in the ChristianityToday.com bookstore.
Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Men of Integrity magazine.
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Enable me, dear Father, to plant the feet of the children You've entrusted to me firmly in Your paths.
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