Noel
Both my (Noel) father and mother were raised in Christian homes. Devotions, reading from the Scriptures, and prayer were very important to both of their parents. So they grew up having a love and devotion to the Lord Jesus. Even though they did not speak in terms of a personal relationship or intimacy with the Lord, those phrases were very much a part of my parents’ life. We always had morning devotions at the table and would always pray before and after the meal. Again at the evening meal we had the reading of scripture and prayer before and after the meal. And before we jumped into bed, we had our prayer time. They just lived the Christian life. The fruit of the Spirit was very evident in them. Especially in their willingness to give of themselves to those who had needs. They had a love for people. I had the privilege of being raised in a home where we experience love.
I may have shared this, but I recall coming home late from a school event such as practicing for a class play or other activity. I would try to go up the stairs and pass their bedroom as quietly as I could. Most often, when I passed their bedroom, they would both be kneeling at the bed praying. A few years after my brother and I had been in the ministry, my mother shared that my father often prayed that one of us boys would go into the ministry. The Lord heard that prayer. We both went into the ministry.
I never questioned, that I know of, about going to Sunday School and Church. That was just something we did as the family Confirmation was not easy. Dad made us memorize a lot from the Catechism and Scripture. We had to have our lesson completed before class on Saturday, which meant that the lesson had to be completed by Thursday evening since there were always ball games on Friday night. Our classes often were an hour and a half long. We kids had to be an example. So in our home, my parents lived out their Christian faith.
Reminds me of the verse from Proverbs 22:6 where it reads, “Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are older, they will not depart from it.” They did a good job.
Noel & Ruby
Mom and I have tried to follow the legacy and example of our parents. We have tried to live the Christian life, be an example of a disciple, a follower of Jesus, love the Lord with all our hearts, and be devoted to serving Him and others.
We were willing to reach out to meet the needs of others, even if it meant letting them live with us for a while, some lasting for months. Having devotions when our boys were young was a vital part of their training, Praying with them, singing the blessing song to them before we said “good night.”
As parents, we have been and still are, blessed in so many ways. We pray that our family and we may be a blessing to others. We have made sacrifices to help others and count those times as an absolute joy and blessing. Like the phrase: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
How we live out our faith may have been different than our parents. The only thing that comes to mind is that we talked about intimacy with Christ, having a personal relationship with Him, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. We probably were a little more vocal about those things and tried to give our boys opportunities where they could grow in those areas. Otherwise, not much different. Our desire was and is yet today to be faithful to our Lord, even though we sometimes know we fall short. But God forgives. He is a good Father, a Father who loves and encourages us to “press on.”