Straight from an Influential Heart
By Lisa Elliott

This summer I had a very unique, possibly once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity to speak to an audience containing three generations of my family all in one place!

It was with this in mind that I began to pray concerning what I should share. Passages like this one began jumping out at me,

“My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children” (Ps. 78:1-6).

I recognize that not all of us are parents or grandparents. But maybe you’re an aunt or a mentor or a teacher or someone in a place of influence. Each one of us can invest in the next generation!

Allow me to share three ways we can have an impact on the next generation for generations to come.

1. Talk about what God’s done.

“Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did… It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place… But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done” (Deut. 11:2-7).

If there was one thing I’d like to pass on to my children and their children it could be wrapped up in three words: God is faithful.

My favourite, most used verse in the Bible is Lamentations 3:22-23, “These things I recall, therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

It’s up to us to talk about and tell of God’s faithfulness to the next generation. And what a blessing it can be!

Often, when my husband and I visit our daughter, Natalie, our grandkids choose David or me to do bedtime with them. I’m not quite as creative as David. But one visit I felt really impressed to tell my granddaughters a love story. The best one I know—my own!

God has been so very faithful to me throughout my life. I met Him as my Heavenly Father when my parents separated. I came to know Him as my personal Lord and Saviour at camp when I was fifteen. He was my Guide, leading me to Bible college where the Lover of my Soul introduced me to the love of my life. He has been my Jehovah Jireh—My Provider time and time again. He has been unchanging in times of transition. Throughout my life, He has been a Friend—closer than a brother. My Good Shepherd has used his rod and staff to comfort me. He walked beside me in the valley of the shadow of the death of my son.

I’ve learned that His grace is enough. I have seen the God who sees me! God is faithful! Therefore, “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation” (Joel 1:3).

2. Watch for “teachable moments.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 tells us, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

I took these verses to heart and was determined to find every opportunity to speak Jesus into the four little lives I was loaned by God to raise. I posted Scripture around my house, listened to Christian music, brought them to church and Sunday school. But mostly I watched for any opportunity I could find to share Jesus and impress the truth of God’s Word into their impressionable hearts as we lived life together in the day-to-dailies.

I especially loved those moments when I felt God had opened a door to share some profound, unsearchable truth and a timeless principle with my kids. Often, the lesson turned itself around and I was the one being educated.

One of these times took place during nap time. It was a challenge to coordinate nap time so that all my nappable kids went down at the same time in hopes that I could seize some much needed quiet time with the Lord. (Or just quiet in general, LOL).

One afternoon my son, Benjamin caught me in the act. He crept down the stairs and saw me sitting with my Bible open in my lap. Knowing I was not going to win this battle of the naps, I decided to share my experience with him. I asked if he wanted to help me build a fire. Having no idea of the conversation about to unfold nor the teachable moment to be had.

Benjamin: Abraham built a fire. Didn’t ’t he mom?
Me: Yes he did.
Benjamin: Then he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Didn’t he mom?
Me: Yes, that’s right.
Benjamin: It’s kinda like when God sent His son to die for us. Right Mom.
Me: (with startled surprise) Yes, Benjamin. He did.

Sometimes it’s hard to know who’s teaching who! And, never imagining I would have to live this lesson out years later as I laid my own ‘Isaac’ down when my Benjamin died of leukemia.

Regardless of who the teacher and who the student is, it’s important we watch for and seize moments to impress God’s truths upon impressionable hearts and minds when they come along.

3. Write about what you’ve experienced.

It’s one thing to tell our children what the Lord has done and another thing to teach them what we’ve learned. But, still another to put it all in a form where they can read and reread it for themselves.

That’s the beauty of God’s Word isn’t it? His written word. God’s love letter to us! Meant for us to read and reread.

There are many ways to communicate with our kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews, mentees and even complete strangers to declare God’s love through the written word: letters, impromptu notes, Emails/texts, family history/genealogy, blog, etc.

One of the ways I chose to pass my life and legacy on is through journaling. My intent was to one day pass them to my kids to allow them to read of my struggles and challenges, joys and sorrows- the good, the bad, and the ugly. But mostly for them to see the thread of God’s faithfulness throughout my life—72 journals later!

Another way the Lord prompted me to put lessons He’s taught me into writing is to publish a book. Actually, three! All in hopes of collecting and having a written record of my personal journey, lessons I’ve learned, and truths and principles from God’s Word to pass along.

• The Ben Ripple: Choosing to Live through Loss with Purpose is my personal record of the year my son, Ben, battled leukemia and the first year of my grief journey to follow.
• Dancing in the Rain: One Family’s Journey through Grief and Loss expresses five different ways we, as a family, grieved the loss of the same person.
• A Ministry Survival Guide: Straight from the Heart tells of God’s faithfulness in my life. It is written from my perspective as a pastor’s wife and woman in ministry. But it’s appropriate for any woman who wants to thrive, not merely survive this Christian life. Natalie, my mini-me, wrote the heartfelt foreword. I had my daughter-in-love, Shaylyn, at heart as I wrote it, knowing she was entering into ministry alongside my son. And, my youngest daughter, Erin, walked alongside and allowed me to process it as I wrote it.

Why is it important to pass what we have lived and learned to the next generation? To warn or prevent others so they don’t repeat mistakes we’ve made. To share lessons we’ve learned. To trace the hand of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Finally, to keep memories alive so they don’t forget and so WE don’t forget.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deut. 4:9).

Lyrics to a song recorded by Steve Green when my kids were young became my prayer as we all grew together:

Lyrics to a song “Find Us Faithful” by Jon Mohr and recorded by Steve Green struck a chord in my heart when my kids were young. It became my prayer as we all grew together. Let it be your prayer,

“Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.”

Let this be your prayer.

What are some of the ways you’ve invested in the next generation? And, who and how have others who have gone before you invested in your life?

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Need a little extra encouragement? Discover more inspirational blogs by Lisa Elliott, Straight from the Heart.

About this Contributor:

Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Stratford, ON, Canada.