Small Traditions With A Big Impact

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

My dad loved buying a real Christmas tree every year when I was growing up. The bigger, the better. We lived in a small house, but our favorite room was the addition the previous owners had constructed. It had a slanted ceiling and, at its peak, it was almost as tall as our second story, providing the perfect spot for a lofty tree.

We have several pictures of my dad standing proudly next to his trees. Not a small man, his six-foot-one-inch frame would be overshadowed by several feet of the tree we’d managed to erect in the highest corner of the room. (One year, the tree was so large my dad had to anchor it to the wall with wire to prevent it from toppling.) Flipping through old albums, I always stop and smile when I come across these scenes.

Memories are an interesting thing. So much of what I thought was important as a child—the gifts with my name on them under the tree, the treasures that might be in my stocking—I don’t even remember. What I recall are the small things—the Christmas cookies and treats my mom would make each year, the tree we’d all help put up and decorate with ornaments and tinsel. It wasn’t the material things but the consistent way my parents made the holidays special that mattered the most.

Like me, maybe you can look back and see family traditions that have impacted you. Or maybe you’ve started traditions in your own family that were lacking in your childhood. Either way, Scripture tells us that if we guide our children onto the right path, when they are grown, they won’t step away from it. This isn’t just about the things we teach our kids, but the daily habits and structures we create for them to grow up healthy and secure. Don’t think that the little traditions and rhythms of life you establish now won’t have an impact later; sometimes, that may be what they remember most.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

What healthy traditions are you carrying on with your family? Spend some time thinking about what new practices you’d like to start incorporating into your life.