By Dickson Tumuramye
The holiday is over and our children are going back to school. Some already started their final term this week. Every parent is working hard to meet their children’s needs; school fees, pocket money, scholastic materials among others. All this is what a parent takes full charge to put in place.
I know we have worked hard also to see that they go back to school when they have completed holiday work. To be sincere, I always look forward to the holiday time to relax from daily home works, but still our schools cannot give us that opportunity. So we obey and attend to our children to finish their holiday work. I don’t grumble as I see them learn and love what they do. We use this opportunity also to bond and crack jokes so that they don’t feel bored with school needs.
However, much as it’s good to do all this, how about developing their spiritual lives? The Uganda’s biggest population of Christians is at 85% and Muslims at 13.7% according to national census 2014. This shows that we all love God. But how well do we commit ourselves to train our children in knowing Him?
The spiritual aspect of every individual is very important. The bible tells that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10) and we are called upon to train up our children in a way they should go so that when they are old, they will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6). This calls us therefore to mentor our children when they are still young to know God as the source of wisdom and to encourage them to accept Him as their Lord and Savior.
Fathers are the spiritual leaders in their homes. How much time have you sacrificed this holiday to deliberately have devotions with your children daily? How much time did you spare or set apart to seek God for them concerning this holiday and as they prepare to go to resume school?
Did you ever involve family in prayer and fasting so that they appreciate the value of seeking God beyond the daily family alters? We all know that children learn a lot from parents because of the trust they have in us. But this depends on how much we live exemplary life before them.
\ Let them give accountability of how they have used their holiday time and share the plans they have to excel in this last term and for next holiday.
Take time to lay hands on each one of them, declare and decree a word of blessing, victory and favor upon your children. Let them learn that you don’t only put special attention on their studies but also much more on their spiritual wellbeing and your desire is to see them grow strongly in the Lord at home, at church and at school.
Encourage your children to take up leadership roles both in scripture/Christian unions and political roles in their respective institutions. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people groan (Prov. 29:2).
I have learnt from the way Jews lay hands on their children to pray for a blessing daily before the children get out of their houses. We cannot miss to do the same. Let our children learn to commit their ways, plans, thoughts, challenges and opportunities to the Lord first before they embark on implementation process.
I pray that one main thing our children will testify about us in future is not the care and love, school visitations and taking them to outings during holidays, but also having special time for them before they went back to school.
I wish our children a very prosperous and successful term at school.
The writer is a child advocate.
