Family Tradition

Kids are impressionable.  They come into the world with virtually no preconceived notions about anything.  Most of what they learn originates from their parents; most of what they learn early lasts a lifetime.  Accordingly, parents bear a heavy responsibility for teaching their children the difference between right and wrong, and teaching them to love and respect, not only themselves and their Creator, but also people who are different from them.

We started with this programming when our kids were infants.  We repeatedly told them, before they could speak or perhaps even understand what we were saying, how much we and God loved them.  When they got a little older, we would go into their rooms before we went to bed (after they were asleep) and whisper to them how much we loved them and how much God loved them.  We also told them how good of a father/mother and husband/wife they were going to be when they grew up, and told them they wanted to go to college at Pepperdine.  While we cannot prove that any of this subliminal messaging worked, all three of them possess an irresistible attraction to Pepperdine.

Another aspect of this teaching and training has been our tradition of reading the “I Have a Dream Speech” together as a family every year on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.  This year, this beautiful and compelling speech has taken on a new poignancy as we prepare to spend six months with people whose life experiences have differed dramatically from our own.  Our prayer is this experience will enhance our children’s love for their neighbors and further fuel their desire to serve those around them.  Here is a link to the speech if you want to start such a tradition for your own family.