Family Devotions Shouldn’t All Look Alike

With Lee home for the last few weeks, he’s been having family devotions in the morning. The children so much enjoy the time he spends with them, and they remind him if he forgets. The other morning I watched as he read and talked with them.What I saw made me smile.

There exists a particular image of family devotions. Father in a sport coat and tie. Mother sitting demurely to the side. Children with clean faces and tidy hair, all crowded around father in a circle, intent on the open Bible in his lap.

Here is what I saw that made me smile:

Dad in the middle of the couch. Laurel on one side turning sumersaults. David and Bethel alternately gazing at dad, the Bible, the ceiling, the lizard, the crack of light between the almost open curtains, a crayon that was left on the floor.They are not crowded around dad because that would mean they would have to touch each other. Sometimes they answer Lee’s questions appropriately, and sometimes it’s clear they missed the last several minutes of conversation.

It’s not always like this. Sometimes they’re not listening.