Parting Words

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 11: 19

It's the same every day.
At 8:10 my son and I stand on the corner waiting for our neighbor, and then the three of us walk to school.
The boys will lag behind and I'll tell them to keep coming. Then they'll run ahead and turn around to wait for me.
They'll grab sticks laying by the road and pretend to shoot passing cars. (If you drive by us, don't worry. They're harmless!)
At some point, there's usually talk about the latest game in gym class, and more recently - what's on top of the Christmas wish-list.

But whatever the topic of conversation has been, our parting words are always the same.
Me: Remember, Matthew - God created you.
Matthew: I know.
Me: He loves you.
Matthew: I know.
Me: And He has a purpose for your life.
Matthew: I know.
((Hug))

I believe Matthew does know those things. But I will continue to remind him every day when I take him to school. Because Matthew is only nine years old, and I know there will come days when he's older and the questions of life are more significant than whether to have pizza or a hamburger for lunch. There will be a time when his trials are more serious than learning how to order decimals and memorizing state capitals. One day he'll wish his greatest fear was asking the class bully to give him back his ball.
When those days come, I want my son to be firmly established in his confidence that God created him, loves him, and has a purpose for his life. So as long as he'll listen, I'm going to keep stating those parting words.
And, you know? The day he thinks he's "too big" for me to say them, I think I'll start whispering them to him when he's asleep in bed.

How about you? Of what do you want your children to be confident when they're older? Do you have any special parting words - for school, or bedtime, or otherwise? We'd love to hear about them in the comment section!

~Karen