Blessing For The New Year!
There’s a passage in the Bible commonly referred to as the “Faith Hall of Fame.” This passage found in Hebrews 11 is a roll call of patriarchs and saints lauded for valiant faith and perseverance through extreme trials. In the midst of these heroic tales, two of the five main patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses), are praised for one very simple action… blessing their children!
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to the future… By faith Jacob…blessed each of Joseph’s sons.” Hebrews 11:20, 21
That’s it. That’s all that got these famous patriarchs onto the list with people who built an ark, were willing to sacrifice their son, held the ten commandments, endured persecution, and performed incredible signs and wonders. Proclaiming a blessing on our children by faith must be extremely important to God, on the level with those other feats! So we encourage you to bless your children!
Here’s a practical idea used in the Jackson home over the years for speaking a blessing to children:
We have made a practice of proclaiming blessings on our children. This year we formalized it a bit and made lists for each child of ways we saw them grow in God’s love and plans for their lives. Each list was about a page long and included simple statements like:
- You chose joy through difficult trials.
- You handled a hard relationship with grace.
- You have strong ideals and work hard to live by them.
- You have worked hard at keeping a good balance of school, friends, and spiritual growth.
- You were a blessing to others when you were busy.
We then set a special time to read the lists. Even as older children, our kids beamed as we affirmed God’s work in their lives this way. One even asked for an email copy so he could print it on nice paper and frame it. We know that this kind of activity can only serve to sharpen our children’s spiritual growth. So we invite you to do this with your kids as you launch into 2012.
Consider how your child has grown in the last year, even if the growth is in independence, assertiveness, or other ways that may have made parenting more challenging for you. Then tell your child during a special time together or better yet, write it in a keepsake letter and read it to them. Here are some questions to help you formulate your thoughts.
- What have been some difficult challenges my child has had this year? – How has he/she gotten through them?
- When has my child demonstrated sincere faith or genuine kindness, integrity, helpfulness, or loyalty, etc.? How might God use these strengths to bless others?
- At what has my child worked hard or shown leadership?
- About what is my child passionate? What makes him excited? Even if it’s not my favorite activity, what is an element of it that could be used by God to bless others?
Wherever your child is on the range from toddler to young adult, this blessing can be something that will be a treasure to all of you as the years go by. You may enjoy this so much you’ll want to make it an annual tradition. Call out your kids’ passions, gifts and faith, and let us know what insights you get as by faith you seek to bless your children!
To learn more about the importance and power of blessing your children, we highly recommend reading the book “The Blessing” by John Trent and Gary Smalley.
