What a wonderful treat I received yesterday.
My wife and the boys came by my work to pick me up and take me out to lunch. Unfortunately, they did not realize that I had a video conference call coming so I was short on time. Nonetheless, we ventured out to enjoy a nice meal at McDonald's. It was a around 2:00 so the lunch rush had come and gone. There were very few people remaining. We grabbed our food and found a booth to sit in. As is customary in our family, each boy took the opportunity to pray for our food. It is sweet to listen to them and to hear what they are
really thankful for. For Jacob, he i always thankful for his videos. For Joshua, it is usually a game. We ate our food at a fairly rapid pace, reminding the boys that we were short on time and that we needed to focus on eating and not playing. Since McDonald's is a rare treat for the family, they had no problems with those instructions. I am sure the apple pie's that were being used as ransom helped a little too. The lady that was sitting in the booth behind us got up to leave, as she walked by she stopped at our table. The words that came out of her mouth, were words that almost made me cry. She said, "You sound like such a wonderful, happy Christian family. Have a Merry Christmas!" We thanked her for the compliment, wished her a Merry Christmas as well, and then she went off on her way. Other than the boys praying before we ate, at no time was there a mention of anything that would have given a clue of where our belief was. It wasn't until later in the evening when I was replaying the events to try and determine what it was that exposed us to this wonderful lady.
It was the fact that our family strives to live by a different level of what is acceptable. Don't think of this statement as some lofty, snooty, self-centered, holier than thou phrase. I am not trying to say that we are better than other families, or that only Christians behave this way or anything like that. I am simply saying that in my house, we serve God. That being the case, we try and live our lives to His standard. The way we treat people, the way we talk to one another, the way we live our lives. Since the day I was saved, I have wanted nothing more than for my 2 boys to understand the love of God and to have them live their lives so that others can see their love for the Lord.
At 3 and 4, they seem to have a pretty good start.