Seize the chance.

Did you miss it?

Yesterday was your chance to do something important. On September 11, 2021, the good Lord opened your eyes and gave you another day. It was an opportunity to teach your children something they really need to know.

If your kids are old enough, did you put your phone down and carve out some time to talk? Did you tell them where you were when the planes hit the towers? Did you show them the photos? Did you talk about the heroes? Did you discuss good and evil? Did you talk about mankind’s urgent need for salvation? Did you let them see you cry as you remembered? If you didn’t, you failed.

Did you tell your children that while the shock and horror consumed us all for a few days, something else was welling up in the heart of a nation? Something powerful, focused, and good was growing and getting louder and stronger, even as the searching for survivors began. Did you tell them how it felt to be united with our fellow Americans in the cause of justice and freedom after September 11th? It’s a tragedy if you did not.

But today is a new day. You opened your eyes again today, so get busy. Your children won’t gain wisdom from you through osmosis. They don’t just absorb what is in your heart and mind by brushing past you in the hallway. Your teens really need to know some things before they face this world head-on, and they need to hear them from you. Don’t leave it up to their friends, social media, or their teachers to give them the information and perspective they need; that’s your job, mom and dad. So get on it.

Sharing your thoughts with your FB friends is fine. Go ahead and post all the memorial pics and tell everyone on the internet how you felt that day. But, if we simply talk among ourselves, while our children are distracted by other sources of input, then we waste a precious opportunity. Every family needs to develop the habit of regular and unhurried conversation. And, if your children seem not to want to talk with you, then think of it like feeding toddlers their vegetables: it’s good for them, and we must keep on until they learn to like it.

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother”

Proverbs 1:8

Our children are all teens and young adults now. Our schedules get pretty crazy these days, but we still have daily family time to talk about important things, to study God’s word, and to pray together. It’s a habit we can’t break because it’s part of the fabric of our family. It’s the most important thing we do. Yesterday we spent our daily family time talking with our children about what really happened that fateful day 20 years ago. They saw our tears. We answered questions. We prayed together for our country and for our world.

Parenting is more than chauffeuring kids to practice, doing laundry, and commiserating with other parents about how tough this job is. Being a parent is really a series of God-given daily opportunities to teach and train our children to think critically and develop godly wisdom. Talk with them about things that matter. It’s your responsibility. It is your privilege. Stop being a spectator in your children’s lives. Don’t waste time or miss these chances to teach them.

This world is bent on sucking young adults into a vortex of confusion. The young people you love will soon have to make life-altering decisions based on the information you’ve given them. Do they have what they need to discern the truth from lies? I promise you this: they need to hear your loving voice on a loop, echoing the truth. No one else can do it for you, and it takes time. But, every day is packed with chances for you to share what the good Lord has taught you. Seize those chances. And if you missed your chance yesterday, begin today.