Parenting Your Child’s Story: A Family Metanarrative

what ways does your child add beauty to this world?

Yesterday I admitted that we don’t really have a mission statement as a family. Instead, we have a — surprise, surprise, story. It’s a story big enough to undergird all of our being and doing as a family. It’s a story that can be tailored for each individual and that works even when we don’t. It’s called the gospel, God’s Story of Grace, or redemptive history, by some.

And you may be (rightly) thinking — how does that story help me figure out how to potty-train our 3-year-old or to pay the medical bills racked up by our daughter’s unplanned-for bout with pneumonia? Good point. It’s not really a ‘how-to’ story, but it doesn’t mean it can’t help us as parents.

Let’s start with the first part of the story and maybe it will give us some ideas.

Creation:Genesis 1-2 You (child) are created in the image of God — that means you have incredible dignity and worth (so why would you want to wear that dirty diaper? (just kidding — sort of). Furthermore, you have a calling and a purpose — to steward the earth, to be fruitful and multiply — to add beauty (which means you should take the time to use the toilet:). What do I want my children to be when they grow up? Men and women who know their dignity and refuse to being defined or demeaned by anyone because they know their Creator delights in them. Women and men who labor with others to bring beauty to any spot on this earth they may stand today. People who know they have unique, extra-ordinary gifts and are called to bless this world with them because they have been blessed by God.

Now you tell me — can just that one part of the story (three more to come) help you in any way with any of your current challenges as parents?