A Walk In the Park

 A Walk In The Park

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV

 In a world filled with activities and non-stop media, walking with our grandchildren might seem insignificant. But, today’s verse tells us that walking with them is God’s command. I have discovered that when I ask our own grandkids, “Who wants to go to the park?” an enthusiastic cry goes up from the crowd! The park means having Poppy push them on the swings, chase them around the jungle gym and help them reach the water fountain.

 But more important than what we do, is our conversation on the way. Nothing excites them more than hearing of how I went wading in a pond, got soaked trying to catch frogs and ended up in trouble with my mom. Putting kids in Sunday school teaches them Bible verses and how to color pictures of Jesus and Moses. But for our grandchildren to get a hold of what it means to be a Christian they need to walk with us a while.

 It took three years of walking with His disciples, for Jesus to teach His disciples to follow Him. His miracles were impressive, but it was while walking through a field and munching on corn, that Jesus taught His disciples about the Sabbath. Walking down the street to a party at Matthew’s house gave Him the perfect chance to show them how God loved sinners and most important of all, when Jesus walked away to pray one morning, His disciples were watching and they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

 If we hope to teach our little ones how to rest, the importance of valuing people who others reject and how to pray, we must use those times God gives us to walk with them. The year’s pass and our grandchildren grow busier while we walk slower. The times we spend sharing our stories with them are precious. How much they learn about Jesus will depend a lot on how often we have walked with them to the park!

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 Peter Caligiuri has been writing since he was a teen-ager. Both short poems and devotionals have appeared in various periodicals such Secret Place, Breakthrough Intercessor and The Upper Room. Peter holds a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education/English from Western Connecticut State College as well as having attended Elim Bible College. He is now retired and lives with his wife Nancy in New Port Richey, Florida where they are members of Generations Christian Church. Together they have two awesome sons, six lively grandsons and one very special granddaughter!

 Article by Peter Caligiuri, and Photo By Kevin Gent, are published with permission.