Saving Susan - Part 3

What, if anything, can we do to save Susan?

That’s a loaded question. On the one hand, both you and I know there is nothing WE can do to save Susan. Only Jesus can save Susan. But on the other hand, the final item on the “To Do” list we have from Jesus before he ascended to heaven is this:

…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20

When you take “The Great Commission” in Matthew and pair it with Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we’ve got a mandate as parents, coming and going. We have to teach our children to obey the Lord. There’s no getting around it. There’s no delegating it. There’s no wishing it into existence. We have to DO it.

So here’s a start, some really tiny baby steps, to head us in the direction of being the grown-ups He’s called us to be in order to shepherd our children into being the grown-ups He’s called them to be.

1. Teach by example. What is your witness in your household? Not when everyone’s at church or an extracurricular activity or a social function, but behind the doors of the place you live. Are you climbing further up and further in each day… drawing close to Jesus in your personal quiet time? Getting caught by your children reading God’s Word? Praying? Obeying even when you know it might cost you?

Do you realize that the Shadow-lands are just the beginning point of the story and that the greater adventure awaits OR do you get caught up in our equivalent of “nylons and lipstick and invitations”? Did you notice that those things can break into the categories of material possessions, appearances, and social standing? Hummm…

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” I Corinthians 11:1

2. Be deliberate. It’s a fallen world and with few exceptions, there is nothing in the world that is going to rise up and help you parent your children to become more like Jesus. I think that’s why God’s parenting “advice” for us comes in the form of commands:

”Train a child in the way he should go…” Proverbs 22:6

”Impress [these commandments] on your children. Talk about them…” Deuteronomy 6:7

”Teach them to your children…” Deuteronomy 11:19

These statements are imperatives, which means they carry a “you gotta do this” connotation with them and not hidden qualification of “when you get a chance, if it fits into the schedule.”

3. Persevere. Parenting is for a lifetime. It is so easy to think that we’ll get a little break once the babies are weaned/ potty-trained, once they can dress themselves/ pick up their toys/ play quietly while we take a nap, once they stop needing homework help every night/ a ride everywhere/ money for everything. It’s easy and it’s dangerous.

Once they are teens they can not only entertain and take care of themselves in ways we parents have hoped for over the years, but they WANT to entertain and take care of themselves. So it gets very easy to let them. And we find ourselves going through an afternoon without really talking to them. And then maybe an afternoon and an evening. And then a day… you see what I mean. We disengage, ever grateful for the periods of calm and a little resentful when we have to step up to the plate and actually parent.

Here’s the challenge. Communicate each day. Fifteen minutes. Carve out the time to sit down and talk with your teen(s). Go for a walk after dinner. Go to their rooms to say goodnight and sit down and listen. Stay engaged the full 15 minutes…even if they don’t open up and share their deepest hopes and dreams or their darkest struggles and fears. Just be there. All there. 15 minutes. Everyday. Persevere.

”Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

So while the ending of The Chronicles of Narnia still bums me out a little concerning Susan, I go back to the beginning of the story… to the dedication of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that C.S. Lewis writes to his goddaughter:

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it.

Little girls do grow up and get silly for a while. So do little boys. But if they keep growing, guided by a loving Hand through the loving hands of their parents, there’s always hope they’ll come back to Narnia.

Keep moving…further up and further in.

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Train a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6