After the disaster last Sunday I went back and reflected more. This was starting to feel like taking on a second job. I was really struggling to find any resources that I felt comfortable with and the next week I felt equally unprepared. As you can see in a different post I began by creating a list of the things that I really wanted my kids to learn about life in God. I really wanted my kids to learn to sense and feel God’s presence in their lives but I wasn’t sure quite how to go about that in a way that was accessible to a 2 y/o and 4 ½ y/o.
That Sunday morning we started with some more song videos, I was beginning to get a little better at my selections. We watched them on my phone so that I could gather them a little closer and calm them down.
After the songs, I blew in their faces and made them laugh. I asked if they could see my breath and my oldest said no. I asked how they knew I was blowing on them and my oldest responded quickly saying that he could feel it but to my surprise he announced that he could not feel God. I was shocked that my 4 ½ year old knew exactly where I was going with the lesson.
I explained that we have the ability to feel God with our hearts. I told him that he could feel my love if he focused on it even after I had hugged him. He responded in matter of factly that he could feel Daddy’s love but not God. We continued to talk a bit about what it means to “feel” things that we don’t see or touch. My wife later commented that my “lesson” seemed a bit advanced for them. I’m still on the fence with that. I want them to begin to turn their attention toward their feelings. As a therapist I know that these senses are often ignored. We talk about feeling close or distant to someone but rarely do we examine how or where we feel it. I wanted them to begin to explore the idea that they really could feel God’s presence. I don’t know if it was a success or failure, I’m not even sure if it’s necessary to frame it that way but I don’t regret doing the lesson. I want to continue to develop this.
*As an update, I periodically blow in their faces as a reminder. They get a kick out of it and remember the lesson but I have a ways to go with this one.
Raising Gentle Faith 