Image by Jaime Wiebel from Pixabay
This is a bit late for a Fathers Day post, but it’s what is on my heart this week.
My dad, John Martin Pence, passed away 5 and a half years ago, on December 17th, 2013. It wasn’t sudden or unexpected; he’d been on hospice care for some time. Nevertheless, it’s not easy to let go, especially when letting go involves watching a long slow decline. But he was 87 years old, and his was a life well lived. When I think of him, I’m reminded of how the Bible speaks of some people who were “old and full of years” when they died. He was full of years, and they were good years.
As I’ve reflected on my dad’s life, and particularly his role as a father, I’ve come away with a profound insight into how he gently planted the seeds of faith in me from the time I was a very young child. He did it by teaching me to pray.
We never had family devotions; however, my dad and I had a nightly routine. Every night before I went to bed, he came in and sat on my bed. He would read me a bedtime story; then we’d say a nursery rhyme together. Finally we would cap our time off with a prayer. When I was very young, he taught me to recite the old “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” prayer. Once I knew it by heart, I would say it out loud–every night. I have to admit that the line “If I should die before I wake” evoked some morbid thoughts. My child’s mind envisioned my parents coming into my room and finding a skeleton in the bed.
When I was a bit older, we transitioned to The Lord’s Prayer, which I repeated every night. When we swiched from the Baptist church to the Episcopal church (that’s a story for another time), he taught me the Episcopal version. “Forgive us our debts” became “Forgive us our trespasses.”
The one constant? I prayed that prayer every night before going to sleep. Bedtime prayers were a natural part of my day and a special time with my dad. And in time I began to pray on my own and take my problems, questions, and needs to God. Eventually, I placed my faith in Jesus Christ and have followed him ever since.
Thank you, Dad, for teaching me to pray.
Question for Discussion: What special routines do you have with your children that are helping to cultivate faith in them?