Five Minute Friday ~ Engage

Many times I write my Five Minute Friday post in relation to my walk with Jesus. Even though I could think of much to write about this word as it relates to my walk with Jesus. But this time my relationship with my husband and children spoke to me.

In regards to my children, I really thought about what it means to engage with them. Sometimes, as parents or adults we tend to think engaging with children is including to involving them in our interests or things we want to do. Which is true but there is more to it. We should be engaging ourselves in their interests and things they want to do as well. For example, my children are interested in things that are very different from things I find interesting. However, this should not stop me from wanting to engage in these activities. I want to be with my children, I want to be involved in their life and I want them to remember me WANTING to do things they enjoyed with them.

For instance, my kids love Pokemon. This is not anything I grew up with or even thought I would have an interest in as an adult. But my husband enjoyed it as a kid and introduced our kids to it. They became very interested and he began to teach them how to play. They all asked me to play with them but I just kept saying no. Then I got to thinking, why am I stopping myself from engaging with them? How silly of me to not want to do something they enjoy. Looking back I remember many adults in my life sitting on benches at amusement parks, sitting in parking lots watching planes, going to farms to look at animals because it was what I wanted to do and they wanted to engage with me, not the other way around.

Well, long story short my husband taught me how to play and I like it! Now, we all have something we can play and enjoy. I sometimes think about the times I have stopped from engaging with my kids because I just didn’t want to do the activity they were interested in and I’ll be honest it hurts my heart. All the time I lost not engaging with them. I hope that I can certainly make up some of that time now and they will look to engage with me more because they see me taking an interest in their interests.

I am also doing the same in my relationship with my husband. I am trying to be more engaging in activities he enjoys (even though there are some I am not going to take part in and he knows that–hunting and camping are not my thing).

I know this knowledge and move to be more engaging with my husband and children is a result of my relationship with Jesus.

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