Every time I hear a helicopter fly over, I say a prayer for whoever is in it and for their family. If my kids are nearby, they pray with me.
We recently went tubing with our kids and some friends. After we arrived at the park, we stood behind the vehicles and put on our snow pants and boots. I was busy handing out snow gear when I felt my son touch my arm.
“Mom, I hear a helicopter.”
“You do?”
“Yep,” he said, pointing at the sky, “right there.”
He looked up at me with big eyes. “Say a prayer,” I said, “someone is having a really bad day.”
He turned around and raised his eyes to the sky once more. I started saying my own little prayer as I watched him watching the helicopter fly over. I realized that he noticed this helicopter because he has seen me notice them. He has seen me stop whatever I was doing to say a short prayer for whoever needed it.
Our kids are always watching us and our actions impact them in ways we often don’t realize right away. While I know not all of the things he sees me do are things I want him to copy, this is one thing I am glad to see him imitate. I have a feeling that for the rest of his life, he will say a prayer every time he hears a helicopter.
What about you? How are you being an example to your kids or the children you come in contact with? Are you doing your best to point them to the Father? Are you encouraging them to love others and to pray for people they don’t even know? It doesn’t have to be something big. It can be something small – something like saying a prayer each time you hear a helicopter.
Photo from Ben White on Unsplash