by Brittany Vallejo
When asked what Discipleship looks like in our home, I couldn’t quite come up with an answer…at least one that made any sort of sense, so I started to dig deep and use my investigative tools (the teacher in me!) to find out. Here’s what I discovered:
Discipleship in our house, looks different every day, every hour and every minute of every hour. One day discipleship for us may be reading a really great devotional, and one day it may be as simple (and complex!) as teaching them how and when to apologize to their sibling. Because as parents it is our role to make disciples, it is a huge responsibility and it takes a great deal of time, energy and PATIENCE. Sometimes it takes thought and intentionality, but my prayer for our family is that it does not take as much effort as it begins to flow naturally through Jorge and I into our kids. I pray that we show Jesus to them in every conversation, every interaction and every difficult situation that we encounter and that as we grow in our relationship with Christ, so do they.
This summer we faced an incredibly painful season as we lost our unborn baby at 10 weeks. One of the things I struggled with most as a mom was how and what to tell my other children. How do I explain to them in the simplest of terms, that God is still good even in the midst of our pain and grief? How would I hold up against the enemy’s lies that God doesn’t want the absolute best for us? This was a huge opportunity for Jorge and me to tangibly speak truth into our children’s lives as we explained to them how God has a plan for our family and we can trust Him at all times, even when we are uncertain. We explained that bad things happen because we live in a broken world, but the very best news is that Jesus is coming back to make all things new! We can have joy in the midst of our pain and cling to that promise because God loves us so much that He sent His Son for us.
One of the books we love to read to our children is, “The Biggest Story” by Kevin DeYoung. The story begins in the Garden and retells the battle between the snake (Satan) and The Snake Crusher (Jesus) who reigns victorious. Our kids love to hear about how the snake is crushed and thrown into the fire at the end.
Another way our family worships together is through music. One resource we really enjoy is Seeds Family Worship where kids memorize scripture that is put to music and paired with hand motions. They really are catchy!
We are blessed to be a part of New City where our children can grow in the truth of the Gospel and learn from so many other leaders what discipleship looks like.