Thumb Wrestling with God

I remember sitting with my mom in church when I was little and playing with her hands. I'd take her rings off and try them on. We'd hold our hands together to see whose was bigger. We'd trace our hands on the back of the bulletin. She'd make two fingers and walk up and down my arm. It's how she got me through church I guess. Or maybe it's how she got herself through.

Last night I went to a community Thanksgiving service at a nearby church. My 5-year-old son, Max, was singing. He made his way back to me when they finished "Count Your Many Blessings." He plopped down beside me with a restless sigh and I began to wonder how long it was going to be before I had to start making hefty promises of Happy Meals and ponies. But as five-year-olds go, Max is pretty well-behaved. He crawled up on my lap during the service and we whispered knock-knock jokes back and forth. We thumb-wrestled a little bit. We looked at the dirt under his finger nails. We thumb-wrestled a little bit more. At one point the minister referenced "Deuteronomy" and Max got really excited because he knew Deuteronomy. It prompted him to whisper the books of the Old Testment to me. He can get all the way to Proverbs now. Then Max became very interested in a cross necklace I was wearing. He studied every detail of it, traced the outline with his grubby, little finger -- read the words "faith, hope, believe, love" painted on it. He finally asked if he could wear it. I gave him the green light nod and hung it around his neck.

It was a simple enough gesture but it was symbolic to me in that moment. I was passing Christ to my son, just as my mom had passed Christ to me; in time spent together in worship. There will come a time when Max has to begin making his own decisions about his relationship with God and I, just like my parents, will need to step back and let him find his own way ... praying all the while that he's got the foundation to get him there.

So while it may look like thumb wrestling on the surface, it's actually pretty important stuff in the eyes of God.

Point your kids in the right direction — when they're old they won't be lost.
Proverbs 22:6 (The Message)