Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
As parents, one of our greatest jobs is to help our children find what it is that God has them to do. Finding our life's work is an overwhelming task in some ways and one that our children need our encouragement and wisdom to discover. It starts when they are young and we encourage their interests by providing books and other resources to help them soak up all the knowledge they can. We can listen to what interests them, and ask questions (which sometimes means, as they get older, that we have to do some research of our own!) Some things will lend themselves to field trips or road trips and we can use these to further explore an interest as a possible future career (as they get older, of course).
For example, my son is fascinated by fire engines. He may never be a fireman, but I can show him now, even as a young boy how to find out more about something that interests him. We borrow books from the library about firemen and fire safety. We watch fire safety videos on YouTube. We talk about what kind of character qualities a fireman needs, like orderliness and courage. He is learning tools and developing skills that will help him find out what he needs to know about anything, not just potential careers.
It also means that we give them chances to exercise the skills and character qualities they are developing. For example, if they are learning about orderliness, talk to them about what is orderly in their world and what needs some work. Show them what orderliness looks like in the areas where they are struggling and how they can bring order to a situation. Give them examples from scripture so they can see it in action.
And once they know the work God has given them to do, don't neglect it. It is the same as when they were little children and you assigned a chore. They could not neglect that chore; it must be done. We have to teach them that the work you have to do, must be done. We can not shirk it or give it to someone else; they have their own chore or work to do. We have to complete the task God has given us. What is ours to do, we must do!
And as always, show them by example. Talk to them about the work God has given you. And let them see you doing it with all your might!
Note: Due to Thanksgiving being on Thursday, there will not be another post until next Tuesday. I hope to "see" y'all then!
Blessings, friends! And Happy Thanksgiving!
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