It's Not Complicated, It's Elementary

by Whitney Jones

Some of my favorite memories with my dad are the ones when he would tickle my brother and me until we laughed so hard we cried. Or the times he would put us in a wheel borrow and push us around the whole yard as fast as he could. My dad was always making us laugh with his jokes and his fun sense of being. He always knew how to get on our level and truly be with us. It wasn’t complicated and planned out. It was simple. He was just there to have fun in the moment.

Now that I am a parent, I find myself doing some of the same things my father did with me. Tickling my little girl on floor to hear her contagious laugh. Or snuggling on the couch with my teenager to watch her favorite movie together and eat junk food. I just love being in the moment with my children. The unplanned and uncomplicated moments, those are the times that matter most to our children and make the biggest impact in their life. 

When was the last time you got down on the floor with your child and got on their level by: playing a board game, coloring in their favorite coloring book, or playing a game of hide and seek? When was the last time you entered into their world?

You see Elementary school is a time of discovering how the world works and how to have fun in it. Our children want to laugh, play, learn and connect with others at this phase of life. That is why you as the parent have to engage in their interest. Not your interests, but their interests. You need to understand your child’s world if you want to have influence in their life.

C.S. Lewis said, “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” Sometimes we have to put the “to do list” to the side and get our hands messy with our children to make the biggest impact in their life. We need to understand that raising children is more than waking up in the morning and getting through the day. It’s modeling to our children to love God and love others so that they can share Christ’s love with the next generation.  

In Matthew 18:2-6, Jesus is saying we should become like children:

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Jesus used a child to help his self-centered disciples get the point. We are not to be childish but childlike, with humble and sincere hearts. The disciples had become so preoccupied with earthly things that they lost sight of the divine purpose of life.  Are you like the disciples? Have you lost sight of what’s really important in life?

I challenge you to start spending more time in the unplanned, uncomplicated moments with your child. Allow yourself to break free from the schedule and the “to do list” and just be with your child. I am sure you will learn something about yourself and your child which will build a stronger relationship between the two of you. Time is moving forward. So be present. Your child will not be little forever, but what you do for them today can give them a better future.