Goodyear Blimp

I recently took my son to the University of Michigan to watch a college football game. The two of us made it a day trip. We drove six hours, round-trip, to experience Michigan football together.

As a father, I was so excited to take my nine-year-old with me. He’s a burgeoning Michigan fan, and I want to encourage his desire to root for my alma mater.

I purchased him a $100 ticket and away we went. We packed snacks. We took extra clothes. We were ready.

After a long drive we arrived in Ann Arbor, parked our car, and walked over a mile to the game. It was nice to just have time to talk to my son—to connect. I took every opportunity to tell him how much fun I was having, that I enjoyed his company, and that I valued spending time with him.

I believe one of my most important jobs I have as a dad, is to teach my children how valuable they are to me. I want to help mold my children’s self-worth. More importantly, I want to model how much I value them, because my love for them is a reflection of Christ’s love for them.

The game was great. Like most football games, there were amazing plays, big hits, and loud cheers. Each time something awesome happened, I would turn to my son to give him a high-five. More often than not, I found him staring off into the distance, completely oblivious to what just happened.

At first I was frustrated. I spent all this money to spend the day together, and my son just stared at the Goodyear blimp.

Then I realized something.

We do the same thing to Christ. He gives us this amazing world to live in and enjoy. He asks us to love others and to share his kingdom. But we often stare off into the distance, oblivious to the world around us. Wow, what truth.

Sometimes we seek to make moldable moments for our children and God’s glory shines through. Allowing those special moments to become moldable for us as parents too.

Have you had any moldable moments lately?