Telling Stories
Devotional
Forty Letters to a New Dad
Devotions for New Fathers
Object:
Then Jesus said, "There was a young man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father...."
-- Luke 15:11-12a
Dear Kyle,
Have you ever noticed how "older people" like to tell stories? They so much enjoy reminiscing about "the good ol' days!" While it is true that they often colorfully exaggerate the details the more often they tell the story, that's okay; we enjoy listening to the things that happened long before we were born.
As the dad, you will be your child's "storyteller." Some of your stories you tell will be made-up bedtime stories about bunnies or farmers or gnomes or princes and princesses. But other stories will be of your life's events; things that your children will love to hear you tell over and over again.
Sometimes, your stories will just be frivolous, but other times they will have a purpose: a "teaching moment." Your children will learn about your growing up years, about your successes and your failures, and about the obstacles you have overcome and the lessons you have learned. They will learn about Oregon High School basketball, Melissa's surgery, her golf career, and how you met on the first day of college at Gustavus. All of this will bring great delight to your children, and will be told again and again, over future generations.
Jesus, of course, was the master storyteller. He could take an event from everyday living and turn it into an object lesson of life. Most of his stories were not factual, of course, but they both entertained his hearers and taught them valuable truths about life in the kingdom.
I expect that Mom and I will have the opportunity to tell your son some stories, too. We will tell him about the great, or silly, or crazy, or thoughtful things you did when you were young, and we will giggle and laugh! "Tell it again, Grandpa!" And I will ... with even more detail the next time!
This is how families connect with their heritage. In addition to having a future, Gordon also has a past. People whom he will never meet will have an impact on his young life because of things they said, or did, or passed down to subsequent generations. And here is an important truth: if one generation fails to repeat the stories, they're lost. When the keeper of the stories from the previous generation dies, those stories die with them, unless they have been passed on.
May your children learn that they come from proud families who have loved each other and enjoyed life. Those are stories worth telling.
Love,
Dad
God, you have made us people who value being connected, not only to our contemporaries, but also connected to those in the past, and those in the future. Help us to keep the stories alive, so that our children and their children will know that they share a proud history. Amen.
-- Luke 15:11-12a
Dear Kyle,
Have you ever noticed how "older people" like to tell stories? They so much enjoy reminiscing about "the good ol' days!" While it is true that they often colorfully exaggerate the details the more often they tell the story, that's okay; we enjoy listening to the things that happened long before we were born.
As the dad, you will be your child's "storyteller." Some of your stories you tell will be made-up bedtime stories about bunnies or farmers or gnomes or princes and princesses. But other stories will be of your life's events; things that your children will love to hear you tell over and over again.
Sometimes, your stories will just be frivolous, but other times they will have a purpose: a "teaching moment." Your children will learn about your growing up years, about your successes and your failures, and about the obstacles you have overcome and the lessons you have learned. They will learn about Oregon High School basketball, Melissa's surgery, her golf career, and how you met on the first day of college at Gustavus. All of this will bring great delight to your children, and will be told again and again, over future generations.
Jesus, of course, was the master storyteller. He could take an event from everyday living and turn it into an object lesson of life. Most of his stories were not factual, of course, but they both entertained his hearers and taught them valuable truths about life in the kingdom.
I expect that Mom and I will have the opportunity to tell your son some stories, too. We will tell him about the great, or silly, or crazy, or thoughtful things you did when you were young, and we will giggle and laugh! "Tell it again, Grandpa!" And I will ... with even more detail the next time!
This is how families connect with their heritage. In addition to having a future, Gordon also has a past. People whom he will never meet will have an impact on his young life because of things they said, or did, or passed down to subsequent generations. And here is an important truth: if one generation fails to repeat the stories, they're lost. When the keeper of the stories from the previous generation dies, those stories die with them, unless they have been passed on.
May your children learn that they come from proud families who have loved each other and enjoyed life. Those are stories worth telling.
Love,
Dad
God, you have made us people who value being connected, not only to our contemporaries, but also connected to those in the past, and those in the future. Help us to keep the stories alive, so that our children and their children will know that they share a proud history. Amen.
