Why We Will ALWAYS Fight For Family Devotions

I just got sent to the cozy couch by my 8-year-old daughter.

Yup, I sure did.

I was touchy and on edge after a long day of party hopping between class track-out-end-of-year-christmas-celebrations and cranky kids, not to mention my own emotional exhaustion.

But it was family devotion time and feelings are to be put aside for a time as we bask in God's greatness.  Right?  RIGHT?!

Josh was sharing a very eloquent Christmas-themed thought with a focus on "peace", of all things.

But all I could hear was Zeke repeating a section of random tunage to sing over...and over and over, while Areyna repeatedly asks, through gritted teeth, "Zeeeke, PLEASE STOP!"  Then there is the 4-year-old crying over wanting the RED scissors for the craft segment, not the blue ones he had been given, a 5-year old climbing all over the table (that girl CANNOT hold still)  and a 1-year-old crashing his play car into the wall.

The epitome of peace, ha!

My irritation must have shown because Rainy looked and me and said, "Mom, go take a break."  Not in a disrespectful way, but in an I-know-you-need-to-get-away-from-us-for-a-breather-before-there-ends-up-being-a-Colony-MINUS-one kind of way.

I ran back to my room, slammed the door and sat on the cozy couch glaring at the wall.

No, not really, but I kinda felt like doing that:)

As I sat there cooling off I could hear Josh leading the kids in "Silent Night"and finally some cooperation as the lesson continued and the point was made.

Sometimes, actually a lot of times, our family devotion times look like this.  Yes, sometimes we have those rare moments where one or more of the kid's hearts is grabbed by the Spirit and they are curious and ask questions and a long, heart-to-heart discussion will follow, but more often than not we are separating siblings who are kicking each other or fighting over highlighters.

But see, to us, it's not about the perfectly behaved children who sit around in a circle taking in every story and deep meaning of Christ we try to share.  It's about the seeds that are being planted.  It's about creating an environment where we can intentionally pour into our kids about what the Lord has taught us.

We will always fight to keep devotions a priority in our family, even if it means that there will be fighting through it.