He Will Teach Your Children...

This was a neat way that the Lord graciously chose to encourage me. I was fretting (my first sin in this scenario) about whether I had taught my children adequately about how the Old and the New Testament fit together. I had been talking to a sweet girl who teaches little ones and she was saying how they explain even at age 2 that the ark is a refuge from judgment that foreshadows our ultimate refuge in Jesus.
"Did I ever teach my children that when they were little?" Despair begins to set in... "Did I do anything right when they were little?" Now the Lord is so gracious. I know that even if I had totally botched their childhood, He is still the one in control and all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. But, you know, He really chose to help me in a different way than just reminding me of that Truth.
We were looking for some videos that John had taped from the television. They weren't labeled, so he just told me to bring in a bunch of unmarked VCR tapes from the garage. I only brought about three. The first one we put in was an old tape we had made when John Jr. was about 4 1/2 and Leah was 3. We were just going about our day and I had let the camera run on a tripod to give my Mom a taste of our life.
Well, at one point, John Jr. says to me, "Thank you, Mommy, for getting me all these books to answer all of my questions." And I say, "Well, you do have a lot of questions." He reassures me, "Even when I know all the answers to all my questions, I'll still ask them and I'll still like the books." Then a little while later, he says, "Mommy, why did God send the flood?" (I promise, I'm not making this up.) And I answer, "Well, the people were wicked. It was a judgment." And then I wait a minute and I say, "And it's a picture of the Judgment Day to come, an outward picture of a spiritual reality that you are safe from judgment because of Jesus." (Or something like that.)
My mouth dropped open as we were watching this. I said it! The very thing I was worrying about, I had actually said it! Not that my son's future rested on me saying those words... not that all would be lost had I never said those words... but the Lord saw fit to remind me of some wonderful realities. God had me pick THAT tape, with THAT exchange about the ark, and He reassured me that -- I can't blow it. Because HE is teaching my children. He has made sure that my children have heard every word that He desires them to hear. And He will continue to do so. For His name's sake.
And besides that deep reassurance, the Lord also gave me a good laugh: As I'm stuttering out all of this lengthy dissertation, little John appears to have totally lost interest and is looking off at something else. But then he gets a sly little look on his face and grins, saying, "Did you see what I did, Mommy? I asked you a question even though I already knew the answer to it."
Even at age 4, my son imagined himself quite close to having all the answers to all the questions out there! I love that kid.