{This post is part of a series on celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas.}
The focus for the last two days of Christmas hit an area near and dear to my heart: discipling.
The heart of our work in Nepal is discipling. We invest in the lives of others, we bring them truth and encouragement, we walk alongside them as they encounter real life circumstances and we cheer them on as they apply what they’ve learned. It’s a big job. An intimidating call. And yet, it’s not our most important discipling role. Not by a longshot.
Our most important piece of discipling? Being Momma and Dad to eight amazing children.
It’s a calling we take seriously. Everything else– and by that, I mean everything beyond our relationship with Christ and our relationship with each other– pales outside of being parents. Our work in Nepal. Our responsibility to our local church. Our extended family. Our hobbies. Our passions. All of it.
It’s our privilege and our burden to train up these children in the way they should go. We love. We inform. We protect. We guide. We correct. We inspire. We offer ourselves, wholeheartedly, unreservedly, without caveats.
In our home, discipling looks like stacks of books, long conversations, Bible studies, one-on-one dates, classes, courses, the finding of mentors It’s our lifestyle of learning (aka homeschooling), it’s turning off the television, it’s putting down the spoon while cooking to intervene in a sibling conflict. It’s shuttling kids to AWANA and sticking around to lead a group. It’s offering opportunities to fail, rejoicing in successes, and modeling by example.
Because this is what parents do. It’s what Jesus did.
This is what it means to disciple.
Happy Epiphany!