Shadowing-Part 2

  Yesterday while mowing my grass,  I noticed once again Hudson watching my every move and trying to follow it.  It was pretty comical really.  If I put on sunglasses, he did.  If I pushed the mower with one hand, he pushed it with one hand.  Everything I did he sought to emulate.  

I think one of the most difficult things about leading, whether that's in the home or the church is that people are not just going to seek to do what you say, and the good example you try to set.  They also are going to take note of those traits that you don't like about yourself.  If your sarcastic, don't ask where they got it from.   Often times their behavior can be a reflection of yours; good and bad.  There are always exceptions, but the longer I've been in ministry the more I've had to look at things that may frustrate me about our students and realize that I may be the problem.  If they aren't reaching out to to their friends and seeing the importance of evangelism, is it possibly because I am not emphasizing evangelism in my own life?  

I think its interesting that sometimes the way the Lord chooses to teach us may be by showing us another person's shortcomings.  Its a lot easier to see errors and sins in another.  The challenge that we as followers of Christ face is to see that and reflect if we are contributing to that problem by doing the same in our own life.  Leading isn't easy, it has a host of challenges that come with it, but I love the way the Lord constantly uses those I minister to in the home and at the church to refine me...

Shadowing

Its been some time, but I figured I would post a short reflection I had the other day. I've been in the process of trying to get my yard back to the color it should be this time of year. Its kind of a long story involving painting the exterior of our house and treating the weeds with some weed killer that made our grass glow in the dark for a week and then killed everything!

As I was mowing the other day and finding white paint chips scattered all over the yard, I became obsessed with getting them off of my grass. Initially I thought the lawn mower would pick them up, but it didn't and I began to get frustrated with the look of white paint chips everywhere so I began picking them up by hand as I saw them.

After some time I noticed Hudson (who all the while had his toy lawn mower out and moving in circles behind me) began stooping down and picking white leaves up and putting them in his pocket.

He was watching my every move, he imitated how I pushed the lawn mower, and had picked up my obsessiveness with picking up paint chips and putting them in my pocket and began to do the same.

As I watched his effort at imitating his father, it reminded me just how serious my role with him is to be taken. He is always watching, imitating, and shadowing. He wants to walk like me, talk like me and in essence be like me. Martin Luther said much about the character refinement that takes place as a result of a family. I'd have to agree, nothing in this world convicts more than to see his eyes as they study my face when I lose my temper, or to hear him sweetly talk of, "Dad being angry with Bailey (the dog)." My role as father is not only to be the authority in his life, to love and discipline him, but its also to serve as a testimony to Him of the Great God I serve. Hudson will make reflections on Jesus and the Bible based on my faith in action. That's why each day I must fall before the Lord asking for His grace to transform my life so that what Hudson see's and hears will attract him to shadow Christ.

Until then, I must seek to live in a way that testifies to Christ, loving and directing him in his steps and gladly accepting His efforts at picking up paint chips and mowing the yard for me! I'll try to update next year about some stones in my life as I'll be preaching from Joshua 4 on May 23rd...