Do you consider your household to be a school of love?
If you were to ask me what our home is like, on most days there is one word that comes to mind along with many others. Chaos. Please don’t misinterpret what I mean by using this word. Chaos comes in various forms, some with positive associations and others a bit more negative. High pitched and loud voices, disagreements – that often times result in arguments, cart wheels, front hand springs, hover boards, spills, homemade stage plays and no less than one breakdown per day.
Four daughters. Incredible emotions. Extreme highs and lows. Varying degrees of emotional intelligence. On many days, checking out seems like the easiest thing to do.
Being honest, it can be easy for us to want to checkout and to let our girls watch Animal Planet for longer than they should or tell them to go upstairs to play just to avoid the noise, activity and wear and tear that simply comes with parenting.
But instead of checking out, we are committed to embracing the chaos. We believe that our decision and example will give them the greatest understanding of a God that chooses to enter their chaos with unfathomable love, grace, patience and the perfect character that is impossible to fully comprehend without faith.
Entering the chaos looks very different every day, but there is a simple phrase that sums up what we are aiming towards.
“School of Love”
This phrase was coined by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century. He was convinced that love could only be taught, given and received in community. I recently heard a current day Theologian, Greg Thompson, speak on this phrase and further it by persuading his listeners that our households need “to be reestablished as schools of love.”
And that’s it!
In our efforts to teach and show love, we have established our household as a school of love. We must be focused and intentional about viewing our home and our girls through the lens of growth, facilitated by us as teachers.
Like all good students our daughters are imperfect, yet learning. All we ask of them is a desire to grow. And like all good teachers, we are imperfect. All we seek ourselves is a commitment to our curriculum, God’s Word, along with continuing education – growth for us as well. And last, like any good school we know our household will operate best when there is a deep level of relationship between students and teachers. Wynter and I are committed to our teacher – Jesus Christ – and seek to develop the strongest possible relationship with our girls, praying that God blesses our efforts and graces our failures.
Are you being intentional in growing in relationship with Jesus today?
Are you being intentional about assisting your daughter in her growth with Jesus?
Is your household a school of love?
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This article is inspired by content in our book, She Is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl He Gave You.
