Love Over Time

Last week we kicked off this series titled Overtime. We have to acknowledge that time is fleeting. Just look at pictures of your children from last year and you’ll quickly realize that the little buggers don’t stay little! It seems just yesterday my now teenage sons were barely able to crawl across the floor, but that was 15 years ago! Time flies and as parents we need to be very intentional about how we use our time with our children. 

This week in our overtime focus we’re talking about love over time. Parenting isn’t a sprint. It’s not even a marathon because a marathon eventually is finished. As parents we’ll never be done being parents, but the window of our influence vastly shrinks as our children get older. So our question today is

How do we effectively and intentionally love our children over time to make a greater impact.

Love is such a weird word. We talk about loving our dog, our car, pizza and chocolate and then we talk about loving our spouse and children. What gives! Why can’t we use different words? That gets confusing doesn’t it?

Well, in all honesty no it doesn’t because we know the difference. We know what we mean when we say we love our car and we love our children but do they? Are our children able to hear the difference? This week we look at specific ways we can love our children over time to build a greater sense of worth. Actually that’s today’s phrase to remember.

When we invest intentional time with our children over time, we provide a sense of worth and value to them in the long run. But how do we love our children over time? What are some ways that we can invest in our children to show them how valuable they are? Here are just a handful of examples. Feel free to share you own in the comments below.

• Date Nights – something as simple as making time for a daddy – daughter night or a mom – son outing could make a huge difference. Go to a movie or out to dinner. Mini golf or go-carting are also some fun ones. Living on a budget? Check out the local park or go for a bike ride.
• Traditions – the little things you do on a regular basis will make a huge difference in your child’s life. In our house every Friday is pizza night. We make our pizza, select a movie and sit down in the living room to spend time together. Sure there are arguments over who picks the movie, what genre is appropriate and who sits where. But the nights we suggest to change the routine there is a small mutiny on our hands! Children like routines and traditions.
• Eat together – never, ever underestimate the power of eating a meal together as a family. We have a rule in our household that we will eat supper together more times a week than we won’t. Which means that we’ll eat together at least 4 times per week.
• Unplug – Ok so this one might be hard in our technology rich age but there should be sacred times in our lives as parents when we put the phone on the counter. Set the smart watch to do not disturb. And just listen to our children. The supper table is a great place start!
• Pray with your child – Now this one is for parents who do the whole church thing, but praying with our children is absolutely critical. We have a regular time for prayer in our house. We pray before meals and at bedtime. In our prayers we use a standard prayer, like the common table prayer and the now I lay me down to sleep prayer. Then we add a special, little prayer based on what’s happened that day. Praying with your child demonstrates love in a way words can’t communicate.
• Be present – One of the most powerful ways to love your children is to be there for them. It doesn’t mean you have to go to every game, practice or performance. It just means that when we’re with our children we’re there. We’re not at work or any place else. But we are with our children. Not only do they get our face but our eyes and our hearts as well. Be there when you’re there.

The long and short of this week’s parent challenge is to love your children over time and it will result in worth and value that your children see in themselves.