I`m tired of forcing my nine-year-old son to go to church every Sunday morning. He strongly dislikes going, but my wife insists on it. She attends but I don`t.
He has been professionally diagnosed and is a poster child for ADHD. I agree with forcing him to go to school five days a week, but I`m about to go to war with my wife and extended family over forcing my son to attend every Sunday.
If my son attends church, I want it to be because he wants to.
I`m literally surrounded by Southern Baptists.
Mi Hermano Jaddie !
Happy New Year to you and yours !!
I read your post a few times, and I feel that it would be really challenging to have any 8-9 year-old child to sit quietly and reverently, for the usual 1-hour Church Service anyway.. They are just too "wiggly" at times..
What we did with our 2 daughters and what I have seen all Parents in my Church do, is bring lots of things that are "quiet" for the little ones to play with during that hour, and that seems to help a lot.
And if the child gets too antsy, then it is time to take him/her out of the Service and walk around awhile, do something to burn the energy down a bit, get a drink, go to the bathroom, and make it more of a let`s take a break time, than making the child feel bad for just "being a child in Church"...
What will eventually rub off on your Son will be the most important things that you will be amazed at hearing from him when he grows up and remembers his childhood - to me, that is way, way, more important than all the Church that is well intended but forced on children..
And, you and your family could perhaps take a day a week and have a little family home evening together, where everyone participates, and there might be a little song, ( I still remember singing "Jesus Loves Me"), a little lesson from you or your Sweetheart, about a story from the Bible or a Sunday School Class Teaching Manual, put in your own words, tailored to the attention span, etc..
That alone would work in ways that you will be so surprised to hear much, much, later, when they are all grown up, and you guys are sitting together, and they start to remember and tell you about those wonderful, beautiful, oftentimes spiritual, moments together..
There will be a time, I believe, when your boy will be all past that stage and he will be so glad that you did what you did to help him get to know about God and His Son, Jesus the Christ, Jaddie !
You and your Sweetheart just need to as I like to say, "Invite all your children, all the family, to come to the table", and go gently, lovingly, and with much love and patience, forward at whatever the pace will be..
It is not supposed to be a race, it is supposed to be a lifelong-eternal-progression-forward on that road to back where we came from....
I think often, about how our Father in Heaven has to work with the big imperfect,
ME !!!
He must be very, very, frustrated at times.. But He never, ever, gives up on Me, as He never, ever, gives up on ALL Humankind...
There is a famous picture of our Savior, standing at a door knocking on it, remember that picture ?
The Scripture reference is Revelation 3:20 I believe.. "I stand at the door and knock".....
Notice in the picture that there is NO door handle on the door - I, You, We, have to
Open the Door from the Inside and let Him in... He will never, ever, come in uninvited, He loves us that much...
Love you guys, thank you so much for all that you do for your sweet family, and all that you have done for us over all these decades even..
Dan F
