For our children
My wife told me once that
whenever she reminisces about her father, the image of him praying in the
living room at early morning comes to her mind first. I think such memory is
the best legacy any parents can leave to their children. We are so busy and
burdened to make living in this world that many times God is not our priority.
However, for children, the image of their beloved parents praying, looking for
God becomes the valuable inheritance. It will remind of them what should be
priority in their lives.
Now that my pilgrimage in
Israel is ended. I am thankful that this trip became such gift to my children.
The memories from this trip where we searched the places in Bible, sweat
together, read the Bible verses together, prayed together, and had fun together
will remain their heart time after time.
Later when they encounter hardship in their lives, and parents are
missed, I hope they can recollect this memory, and move forward with God.
I started this pilgrimage
trip to Israel because my children said to me that they wanted to walk the path
Jesus had walked. Now I pray that Jesus walks in their hearts and leave
footprints. I pray that my children will
have their own pilgrimage in their hearts.
I hope that our church will
leave such legacy to our children’s heart. We all hope for the best for our
children, but the path our children has to take won’t be easy. So, it is really
important to teach them about God and show them how to walk with God. Our
children need parents who can inspire them to look beyond the “handful of
ashes”.
Naturally Jesus was the one who
occupied my heart the most during the pilgrimage, and the king David was the
next in line. Anticipating that someday my children will need to fight the
battle against the world, we searched through the place where the story of the
king David and Goliath took place near the last day of my trip. I pray that our
children will become a protagonist in the upcoming battle in this same place.
From pastor, Choi, Jiwon