I was sitting down to do a Bible study some years ago and my daughter was watching. She saw me highlighting and must have felt inspired. She picked up my pen began to reach for the page. My natural instinct was to stop her and say that this was mom’s bible and not a coloring book. I was preparing to correct and then I paused. First, was her desire to color on the edges of my Bible really so wrong? Second, could this be a unique bonding moment for the two of us to be writing in the Bible together? Lastly and most importantly, would I look back on these pages fondly remembering this moment when I am old and grey?

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

I feel that the Lord taught me in that moment and has continued doing so in similar ways the verse “Let the little children come-“. My daughter and I sat side-by-side on the couch for almost an hour working together on the pages of this Bible. Since then, I have continued cultivating my time in God’s Word to being a space open to my children. I do not always get the depth or length of study that I may prefer. This time is often and frequently interrupted by runny noses, tears, and snack breaks. This time is also often interrupted by questions about what I am highlighting and what it means. Choosing to study my Bible in close proximity to my children has been a natural opening to talking about the Lord together and answering questions they wonder about.

I used to want to study the Word in quiet solitude and there are still times where I do that after bedtime, but more-so now I desire to live out my faith in front of my little ones. They see a value in getting time with the Lord and I pray that they can one day give it the same priority in their own walks with God. This isn’t just for my time in the Word either. I want to live out my faith in front of them to not only show them what it is to be a Christian but to also open the door for more conversations. When we see someone in need, I would love to meet that need and talk it through with the kids. Likewise, we can be talking about my failures to come alongside those we encounter or the days when I don’t open up my Bible. These are things I want them to have the freedom to question/consider and is also a good opportunity to humble myself and confront my shortcomings.

Someday, I will sit down slowly on the couch and reach for my Bible with a wrinkled, shaky hand. I will flip through the battered and torn pages to open up to a passage I haven’t read in a while. There on the page will lie my notes and the art of my children so beautifully intertwined. Here my heart will ache, and the tears will fill my eyes as I reminisce on the days when I had little children running around while I sat down and tarried with the Lord. Then the house will be quiet, and I will pray over the generations of this family God has blessed me with. I will cherish those pages to the day I die.

“Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3