Partners in Parenting

Being Identified by your Child!

The other day, a new student came bounding up to me with “all smiles” on her face.  She jumped up into my arms, and I am thankful I caught her before she fell (I had no idea she was coming for a hug).  After hugging her, I put her down.  Then the short conversation started:

“I saw your son today. He talked to me,” she reported.

“Which son did you see?  I have two sons.  Was it Evan or Logan?” was my response.

“It was the orange one!” she said as she skipped away toward her mom.

Hilarious!!  I couldn’t stop laughing at the idea that I knew which son she meant immediately as she said the “orange one.”  She is a very little girl, and she was speaking very concretely about how she identified him.  He was wearing an orange shirt that day.

It got me to thinking – how would my kids identify me as a father?  What words would they use to describe me?  Loving? Caring?  Fun?  Boring?  Safe?  Christian?  Role model?  Etc.  Maybe the best way to ask my kids is ask for words they’d use to describe me.  It may be an eye opener for me, but I think I’ll do it at dinner tonight.

Jesus did this once with his disciples:  “Jesus asked, ‘Who do you say I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’”  Matthew 16:15b – 16.  Just like Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah, I know my kids can identify me and describe me.  Now I also wonder if my kids can see me and identify Jesus in me.  I’ll be asking them, will you?

Family Discussion Points!

Have each family member describe in one or two words dad, mom, and then each child in the family.

Then do the same thing with Jesus.  Use words to describe Him.

Finally, talk about how closely related those descriptive words for Jesus and each person are to each other. 

This is a tough thing to do, but it might be very rewarding for the whole family to have this discussion.