The Road to Emmaus

As a parent, money and patience always seem to be in short supply. I sometimes look at other parents and wonder how they can be so patient as their son tears the curtains from the wall. I once heard a man say, "What we think of as patience may actually be perspective."

The ability to see things as they really are gives us the courage to wait upon the Lord even when life takes unexpected turns. The story of the road to Emmaus illustrates this principle beautifully.

Three days after the Savior´s death, two of His disciples walked the dusty road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. As they spoke, they were joined by a traveler who asked about their conversation. The disciples replied, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem...they have crucified [Jesus]. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel."

Then the stranger said, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He then opened the scriptures to them, showing how all of the prophets had testified that Christ would be crucified and rise on the third day. As night fell the disciples asked the traveler to join them for a meal. Sitting together the stranger, "...took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew...[it was Jesus]." - Luke 24:17-32

We are often like the disciples. We let the worries of the day keep us from recognizing that the Savior is walking alongside us. We are quick to treat our trials as curses, instead of trusting that with God´s perspective our "curses" may actually be blessings. May we be more willing to wait upon the Lord, and may we see things as they really are as we walk our own roads to Emmaus.

THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
by Steevun Lemon

The Lord was gone, His body lay
Inside the captive tomb.
And those who followed Him in life
Now felt the awful gloom.

Yet, two would walk the dusty road to
Emmaus on that day.
These were His friends, those whom He loved
Who talked along the way.

"He was the Son of God," one said
"How could He now be gone?"
"It seems our sorrow is too great
To hope to see the dawn."

And as they walked a stranger came
He listened as they spoke.
He saw their tears and heard their cries
And then His silence broke.

"But wasn´t this the plan," he asked,
"That Jesus come and die?
His sacrifice will save us all,
The prophets testify."

And so they walked into the night
And listened to Him speak
Of promised resurrection and
Of heaven for the meek.

And as night fell, they stopped to eat
This tiny little band.
And when He broke the bread they saw
The nail marks in His hands.

Too often we are like those two
Who walked along the road.
We think that we are all alone
With none to share the load.

We do not see our loving friend
Beside us on our way.
Carrying us through life´s dark nights
Into a brighter day.

So as we walk our own roads to
Emmaus may we see.
That we will never be alone
Unless we choose to be.

The Power of Art

 

My mother is an artist. Some of my earliest memories are coming home from school and sitting on the floor next to her easel and talking to her while she painted. I suppose that is why I feel so strongly about the power that art has in shapping our realities. Not sold yet? Let's try an example. If I asked you what Jesus looks like you might describe a man with long hair and a beard. If I asked you to concentrate on the picture in your mind you might soon realize that the image you hold in your mind is actually a depiction of the Savior painted by an artist.

This reality-shaping power found in art is especially useful to us as parents trying to communicate to our children intangible ideas like love, work, and faith to children. We need tangible tools to help us convey these values and pictures are one of the most powerful ways to do this. Walt Disney once said, "Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."

For this reason I am going to begin to introduce different pictures on this blog and how my wife and I have used these images to communicate our values to our children. This has not been a road without bumps and bruises. Often what I want them to see is not what comes across, but the victories have made the ride worth it. Stay tuned...

The "Science" of Parenting

In our thirst for advancement we have developed a "science" for everything from medicine to manufacturing. In our professional work a growing list of certifications are necessary to stay competitive as people clamor to find the "best practices." Yet parenting, our most important work, remains largely an art rather than a science. As parents there are no formal certifications or continuing education to teach us best practices.

Parenting is a little like taking your car to the mechanic who says, "I've never done this before, let me call my mom and see if she knows what to do." It is clear that parents want their children to be happy, but few of us are sure exactly what we need to do in our own lives to achieve lasting happiness, let alone what we should do in our parenting efforts to make happiness as reality for our children.

Remembering...

I grew up in the 1970's in a town straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. We walked to school no matter the weather. Summers were filled with games like "Kick the Can" and stick ball and when the street light came on everyone scattered for home. We mowed the lawn and weeded the garden because it was our job. We picked up pennies because you could still buy something with them. Everyone had chores on Saturday and watching a jet streak through the sky still brought a sense of awe and a feeling of pride that you were an American. We were spanked by any mother in the neighborhood and never said a word about it to our own mothers because we didn't want second licking. We gathered for dinner, prayed, and read the Bible as a family. On Sunday, the roads were empty and the churches full. Those were simpler, happier times.

Today, children car pool to school, play video games and avoid sunlight like vampires. No one looks up when a jet passes over, pennies are left on the ground, and mowing is a paid sport. Gardens are something you visit not something you grow. Dinner comes in a box with a toy on the way to another ballgame and the Bible sits on the shelf as dusty fiction. Sunday has become just another day and heaven forbid anyone lay a finger on their own children let alone anyone else's. Worse of all I'm not sure we stop running long enough to ask if we are happy or just busy? It seems to me that in working so hard to give our children everything, we have given them nothing.

I recognize that much of what I loved as a child is not coming back for me or my children, but the blessings of being a family and the truths my parents taught me must come back. Parenting cannot be a spectator sport, it demands our best efforts and depending upon our actions it promises us our greatest happiness or deepest regrets.