Several years ago, my wife and I spent a significant amount of time working on 12 big things we wanted our four kids to know when they left us someday. Those "big things" are still in process, but we decided to get going on the ones we were sure about. We have a weekly "family night" where we creatively work on sharing these things with our kids.
The theme for the current month could be called "Your Life Says Something ... What Does It Say?" To start our family night, we began with some fun "mad libs" --- you can actually do some free online ones here. Just a fun way to start the night. After a few mad libs, we all packed up in the car, and took the kids to a local cemetery. We gave them a little "talk" on the way in about respect, expected behavior, etc. Then we paired up and set out with these instructions. With a notebook and pen, visit as many gravestones as you can in 20 minutes, noting what the gravestones SAY. Write down the "epitaphs" that you see that are meaningful to you. I went with my 11 year old daughter. Here are a few of the epitaphs we wrote down:
"Beloved wife and mother" (there were many of these)
"She was my nana"
"Together forever" (for married couples)
"She gave so much without knowing that she gave at all"
It was quite a powerful experience. Then we all loaded back into the van, and drove home. Along the way we went around and all shared what we had discovered. There were stories of children that had died, couples buried together, and much more. When we arrived home we asked the kids what they learned from this experience. They said things like:
"Our lives should have a purpose."
"Our lives say something."
"Life is short."
"What we do is important."
We then closed with prayer together - praying that our lives would all SAY SOMETHING THAT MATTERS.
I think our kids will remember this experience. Our goal was for them to really "get" that their lives speak and are a witness. Our desire is that their lives would witness to the person of Jesus and His love for the world.
We would encourage you to try some family nights like this. It takes time and intentionality on our part as parents. But is there anything more important?
Have a GREAT FAMILY NIGHT this week!
