Faith & Insight: Train up a child

Last week we had the pleasure of taking a couple of our younger grandsons camping with us to the Bridgeport area near Twin Lakes. We’ve always enjoyed camping and we love to share the experience with our grandkids whenever they can go.

We had a wonderful time hiking, biking, fishing, playing at the lake, walking the dogs, and just hanging out by the firepit making and eating s’mores. We told stories, laughed a lot, and remembered some of past family camp outs.

We talked to the boys about their dad and uncles growing up and times we would take them camping. Stories that begin with, “remember when?” … or “what do you think about?” … or “how could we have done that differently?”

It’s more than learning how to fix your fishing line, or bait your hook, or clean a fish; it’s passing on valuable life lessons to the next generation whenever we have the opportunity. God calls us to “train our children in the way they should go and when they are old, they will not depart from it.”

That requires something of parents and grandparents when the kids are in our care. Like teaching, instructing, correcting, loving, nurturing, talking about why we do what we do. Using our words to encourage and build them up and not to tear down.

Being a parent or grandparent, and now a great-grandparent requires patience, love, and consistency. Our kids are grown, so we have to learn all over again when we are with the grandkids and the great-grands.

Having a routine, schedule, and rules helps guide and connect us with our kids by giving them boundaries to help them understand how they should behave and also reinforces what their parents are teaching them.

Character matters, family values are important, and when kids learn to listen and obey their parents and grandparents, they will learn to listen and obey God.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Peggy Locke is co-founding pastor of Carson City Foursquare Church, assisting minister at Reno Hillside Foursquare Church.