be the moon

I'm pretty sure Mardel still sells the t-shirt with that phrase on the front: Be the Moon.  On the back it says, reflect the Son.  As cheesy as it sounds, it is an accurate description of what we should do, and actually what we will do if we are spending time with God (the Father).  When we're not spending time with Him, we will inevitably show our nastier selves in a variety of ways.

Remember when your kid was two or three and you would notice some quirky little trait or some irrational fear they had?  It's cause they were being the moon.  There is an intentional parallel between us and our children and God and His children.

We easily notice when we are more patient, loving, and kind with those around us as a result of being with Jesus and reading the Bible to sustain our souls, but what we often fail to notice is when our own children display characteristics they have picked up from us because (shocker...) they are with us all the time.

I noticed sometimes when Ronin is sensitive about something, it does no good to talk about it, or he gets extremely emotional.  This baffled me for the longest time, until finally, I saw myself do it.  Now don't misunderstand me to say that our children have no identity of their own--they do!  But they are most like you and your spouse, because they belong to you and they are a reflection of you.

This is assaulting on a couple fronts: all of the sudden you just thought of something one of your kids does that you haven't been able to explain until now.  Also, if you love Jesus, you know you don't spend as much time with Him as you want to and because of that, your kids will reflect it.  While many say your relationship with God is just between the two of you, it's just not true.  It effects everyone around you (and it should), especially your kids.