What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day?
What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me?
Welcome back to season 6 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In our next few moments together, we hope to learn some of the most important lessons from some of the simplest things in life. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
It’s really hard for me to believe what I’m even about to say right now. My son turns six tomorrow. Where has time gone? I will be the proud father of a seven-year-old, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old by the time this weekend is over. I still remember the day that Dane was born – in fact, it was the day before the lockdown in 2020. While it was a terrible and stressful time for so many at the beginning of the pandemic, those few months are actually some of my most cherished memories because I was home with my still very young daughter and my then just born son. But he’s not an infant anymore, he’s about to be six – and he’s growing into a fine young man that we are so proud of. If you know my son, you know the goofball that he is. He is so funny, so silly, and is 100% all boy. You can frequently find him dressed up as spiderman running around our house, or outside swinging a lightsaber or shooting his boy & arrow pretending to be Robin Hood.
But he’s not just funny and adventurous, he’s also one of the sweetest boys that you could ever know. He loves his two sisters just as much as he loves his mamma and is so protective over them. They couldn’t have asked for a better brother. But what touches our heart the most is the way that that this little boy loves God. One of his favorite things to do is to sing – and he’s been excited and practicing his song leading for our upcoming winter bible study. He already got to do it once, and as soon as he was done, all he did was kept asking, “will I get to lead songs again?” There is nothing more important to me in this life than for my family to walk in faith together – for my wife and each of my children to all be grounded in Christ Jesus. I really do consider myself the richest man in the world to have the family that I have. We are so blessed, and Dane is one of the big pieces of that blessing.
As we wake tomorrow morning, he will likely come running out of his room exclaiming, “It’s my birthday!” while in search of the donuts I picked up for him. It will be a day filled with fun and friends all kinds of memories. But in the back of my mind, there will be a large part of me that is reminded of some much more important things – like how quickly time goes by. I only get maybe as little as 12 more summers with him before he will be ready to leave our home and start becoming his own man. Only 12 more summers to continue to help him become who God wants him to be. Only 12 more summers to be a part the daily joy he brings to our home before he fills his own home with it. Life goes by all to quickly, and children are a reminder of just how wonderful by also how fast life can really be.
As I have reflected on all of these things, there are several lessons that I wanted to pull from my meditations to share with you all today. And the first is very simply this: that children are the most wonderful gift from God. We read in Psalm 127:3-5, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” There are so many things that I can point to in this life that remind me of just how much God loves me, but my children are right up there at the top. The fulfillment that comes from raising children is like nothing else in this life. Naturally, there are many very difficult things that come with raising children…but there are immensely more wonderful things too. I wouldn’t trade the joy and the love that my children fill my home with for anything else in this world. I think sometimes we forget just how much of a gift our children are – we can so easily become distracted in this life and take them for granted or not pay them the attention that they need and deserve. When that happens, we would do well to remember this next point.
Second, life goes by faster than we think. We read the following powerful statement in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Perhaps the reason we do not always treat our children like the gift that they truly are is we assume that there will always be more time. But that’s just not the case. Our time is so limited in this life. The time we have to bear fruit for the kingdom. The time we have with our spouse. The time we have to influence, teach, and enjoy our children. While some stages with our children might feel long, when we look back in hindsight they really are not. We’re out of the up all night stage. We’re out of the diaper stage. We’re soon going to be out of the toddler stage entirely. We will blink and we’ll be in the teenage stage. Then we’ll blink again and we’ll be empty nesters. We don’t have all the time in the world that we think we do. We need to be intentional with our time, especially with our families. Don’t waste it – embrace and cherish every moment as it flies by, every minute of it.
Finally, spiritual formation happens slowly and daily in the lives of our children. Deuteronomy 11:18-19 will echo the more well known words of Deuteronomy 6 when it says, “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Parents, you are the primary teacher of your children – especially regarding spiritual matters. Not their elders, not their preacher, not their Sunday school teacher – you. And that instruction does not just take place during designated hours of worship – it happens every single day, day in and day out. At this point I have to especially give praise to my wife, though obviously it has been a team effort. But especially Kylie has worked tirelessly to example, teach, and direct our children in the way that they should go. As parents, we must be willing to put in the time and remain consistent daily with our children if they are to continue to grow into who God wants them to be. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does continue to happen daily. It is my prayer that we can live out Proverbs 22:6 with each of our children, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
My friends, you don’t have as much time as you think. Redeem it. Use the time that you have left to be present in the lives of your children. Enjoy them. Cherish them. Teach them. Love them. You’ll never get these wonderful years back, so as good stewards make the most of them now – and you’ll never regret that you did.
This has been season 6 episode 9 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday of the week. If you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating, and tune in next week. Even more important, share the spiritual truths that we learned today with someone else. And more than anything my friends, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.
