Where You Lead

A Heritage

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe… so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2

My faith has been passed to me from my parents; their faith from their parents. I’ve brought my own children up in the same way. While some find their way to the Christian faith on their own, many of us pass our faith on to the next generation just as it was passed on to us.

For many years, I went through the motions of religion with my kids, taking them to Mass, having them baptized, and on through the sacraments. I didn’t really share my faith with them, though. I didn’t talk about the miracles in my life, the fact that I spoke with God regularly. My faith was personal and quiet and I wasn’t quite sure how to share it with my kids at first.

Somehow, I did learn to open up and talk more and more about my faith. I did learn to share with my children the importance of God in my life and how the Gospel was a part of my day-to-day living. Yesterday, my second son called and asked me to pray for him regarding an issue. He called a few hours later to thank me, because things did work out.

I realized how important it was that I shared my faith with my kids and let them see God’s hand in my life. I realized, too, that my children would be passing along to their own children that same faith. Our faith in God is a most precious heritage.