To be totally real with you, family devotions are kind of rare in our house. Well, maybe not rare, but definitely not as common as I’d like them to be. We go through waves of being consistent, then … not.
There’s a bunch of obstacles to navigate when it comes to family devos. First of which are the expectations we have. For example, have you ever caught yourself feeling resentful toward your husband for not initiating family devos? Sometimes we expect our husbands to be the “spiritual leaders,” but, Mama, YOU are a spiritual leader in your home too.
Are you missing an incredible opportunity to pour into your children over a stand-off with your husband? You guys are teammates; you’re in this together! Find ways to support each other in this. Educate yourself on leadership principles that you can apply in your home. A good place to start is Craig Groeschel’s Leading Up podcast. The reality is that your kiddos need nourishment, not just physically, but spiritually. So, feed them!
[Side note: this reminds me of a hilarious episode of Everybody Loves Raymond that captures the absurdity of marriage stand-offs. Check it out at the bottom of this post and have a good laugh!]
There are other obstacles to family devos, too. Like not having ideas or resources for what to do during a family devotion time. Or like, when they’re little and it feels slightly ridiculous to call whatever it is you’re doing a family devotion when it only lasts 2 minutes and no one was sitting still or listening (I feel ya!).
Or when the kiddos get older and start questioning everything and hurt your feelings with eye rolls and complaints when you try to get spiritual for a hot minute. It should be an Olympic event, coercing everyone to sit in the same room at the same time!
But here’s the thing. It’s worth it.
It’s worth the struggle! It’s worth the research to find a good resource (scroll down for resource ideas). It’s worth swallowing your pride, handing your husband the children’s book with the page already marked and asking him to read it to the family before breakfast, or before bed. It’s worth absorbing the eye rolls and sharp comments of teenagers.
God’s word is powerful, Mama!! He will finish what he’s begun in your family. When His word goes out, things happen. Hearts are molded into forms of kindness, contentment, gratitude and joy. Sometimes you see it right away; most of the time you don’t, but don’t be fooled. Good fruit is growing!
And that’s exactly why family devotions are so hard. Because it’s easy to let a plant wither and die (trust me, I know), but it takes an enormous amount of effort, time, thought, physical action and patience to grow something. Thankfully, Jesus is with us every step of the way, enabling us to bear fruit as we abide in him and teach our kids to do the same. He’s calling us to collaborate with him in the growing process, to nourish the souls of our children with His word. So, let’s get to it!
A few of my favorite family devo resources:
1.) Big Truths for Little Kids by Susan Hunt & Richie Hunt
2.) The Ology by Marty Machowski
3.) Little Book Devotions — Kindness
4.) The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”