We Do Not Run Aimlessly

Advent day 11: Perseverance.

For those unaware of the relevance of this picture, a few days back I outlined {here} an idea that my family and I chose to embark on last advent. Today’s devotional time was excellent. We focused in on Bethany Hamilton’s kindle devotional. The points covered perseverance in the context of training.

Discussing how thankfulness can be a strong antidote to boredom.We opened up the text and unpacked how a thankful attitude works out from the word gratitude. As an example, I shared with them how it took me years practicing guitar scales, chords and theory to fine tune the abilities they hear. It takes time. It takes patience. In a word: perseverance. We talked about how training can get boring, and yet how important repetition {ROTE} is in helping us learn.

Evidently we end up resting on the theological understanding of discipline. The confessing martyr’s theology of Costly Discipleship. Two have read about Bonhoeffer and Corrie Ten Boom, so the concepts are not beyond them. We have made it a point to keep them aware of the darkness that shrouds so much of 20th Century history.

As a dad, I cherish these moments of grace. Moments where I get the chance to teach my children about the importance of history, politics, art, theology; life, and the one who gives it. The amount of work attempted throughout the week is balanced by these reminders. For it is certain that not all that is important in life, centres on Science, Maths, and English.