Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments.
-Deuteronomy 7:9
Our love for him will benefit ourselves, our kids, and our grandkids down to the thousandth generation. Whenever I take my two older kids to daily Mass on Saturday mornings, I have gotten comments about how my faith is going to make (or break) theirs. It's not like this promise of God's is necessarily a free pass for the next 999 generations, but the foundation that has been started for you by your parents, grandparents, etcetera, has helped mold your faith and your faith will help mold your children's (for better or worse).
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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My friend replied to this post on Facebook saying, "That is so true, but how do we ensure we are "making" their faith and not "breaking" it? I know of so many people who have fallen out of the faith whose parents were excellent role models and guides throughout their lives. I pray that doesn't happen to my kids."
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I guess we don't ensure that we are making or breaking their faith. It's our job to do what's right and God's job to make it bear fruit. If we only rely on ourselves to raise our kids, both we and they are going to fall short. If we pray and rely on God to help them turn out all right, it will be so in the end. Hopefully, they don't put you through what St. Augustine put his mother, St. Monica, through before he turned things around. From what I know of my friend and her boys, I think she'll have an easier time of it than Monica.