Kid Drift

I had a funny moment with my 8-year-old daughter yesterday. Our family had spent the weekend at Disney in Orlando for a basketball tournament that Emily was playing in with her travel team. On Sunday morning we didn’t have a game and had enjoyed a slow, easy morning. Alana and I had coffee by the pool while the kids watched TV and then we began the process of showers and packing up to head home.

In the midst of all of this, Kimberly needed a muffin and I needed a coffee refill, so we walked down to the food court to grab a bite. As we walked to the room, Kimberly swerved into me several times as her attention was captivated by people or the decorations. I joked about her trying to run me off the road and she just looked at me and said, “Sorry, I drift.” Needless to say I wasn’t sure how to respond.

As I think about it, that moment really sums up the life of a parent. Our job is to provide a foundation and a structure so that if our kids drift we are there to help them back onto the road. Far too often I see kids who drift with no one to guide them back. I see parents involved in themselves so much that they don’t see their kids drift. Or I see kids drifting and their parents refuse to step in and point them the right direction.

God understood the human condition enough to know we would drift. He also understood the family dynamic enough to know that we should guide our children toward the path that truly leads to life. Parents, live up to your responsibility so that our children never drift off the path and so that we can steer them back in the direction of the true source of life.

“These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your heart. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7