Accepting and Extending His Invitation

This post is by Sabeth Kapahu.

If repetition was a love language, the tiny humans who fill our halls would be filled to the brim with joy and their love-tanks would be topped off daily.  However, more often than not our halls are filled by miniature versions of ourselves and the personalities we are desperately trying to grow out of.

 This is why it is so vital that we take the time to start our days with Jesus. We never quite know who is going to walk out of that bedroom door and into our hallway. The reality is we don’t get to choose the outcome of our days, but we do get to choose routines that help us do our best to keep the halls of our homes full of life, love, and Jesus. While our kids are still under our roofs, we get to take every opportunity to tend the soil of their souls, sow seeds, and pray that they grow deep roots. 

I have made a lot of mistakes as a mom, but one victory I get to celebrate often these days is that my son seeks me out for God time in the morning.  He’s four, and I think he’s showing up more for the snuggles than our Saviour, but I believe that these sacred morning moments will indeed be his saving in the future.

Mornings throughout motherhood change with each season, and when you’re in one it's hard to imagine another. The beauty of starting our days with God time is that it sustains us regardless of the season. When we wake up praying, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life,” we open our days (and all those who we invite into our journey) to unimaginable possibilities… the kind of possibilities that only the Lord's unfailing love could produce.

We get to invite our children into this space of unfailing love. As domestic engineers, we know it is easier to fill the love tanks of those in our care when we are working from a full tank within ourselves. This can only come from intentionality and the gumption to make the time for what matters.

We need to accept the invitation and extend it just the same. As much as we need to hear the voice of Jesus daily, so do our kids. They are not an interruption when they bust through the door as the sun rises, they are an extra reminder to sit, stay, rest. We get to pull them up to our laps, read aloud, talk about what we are planning for the day. We get to ask them what they want to pray for, and talk to Jesus together. 

Set their Bible out before you go to bed as an invitation to God time in the morning. Give them a highlighter in their favorite color, and have them read to you what they want to highlight. Tape a scripture verse on the wall for them to read as they walk by. These are the small invitations that make big differences. These are the ways we prepare our hearts to enjoy God time together with our children; instead of running away from them to get to Jesus. Don’t get me wrong… I’m all about running away from them when the time is right, ha! 

May we keep the invitation open and the love flowing freely in the hallways of our homes and hearts.  May we cultivate spaces for live-giving, grace-filled morning routines that matter day after day. One day at a time.

 Sabeth Kapahu is a mother (x4), wife and entrepreneur with a passion for inviting people back to the things that matter most. She’s the owner of Invited Back LLC which can be found at: http://reimaginereinvite.com