set the pace

Alright, I admit, my blog ideas have just not been moving lately, but here's my latest hmmm....

The other day, Kennedy and I were walking Jaxon to school. Kennedy usually rides her bike, because the 2 mile walk is just a little too much for her little legs. That particular day, we were running a tad bit behind schedule, so we needed to keep moving. Being the positive mom I am :), I expected Kennedy to ride ahead of us, giving us a pace to keep up with. However, she stayed right by me. I told her to go on ahead, but she wanted to walk right next to me. Honestly, we weren't making much progress...we were all kind of bumping into each other, tripping over each other's feet. So, I patiently took a breath and moved in front of the kids, walking quickly, setting a good pace. Soon, they sped up and we made it to school on time.

Here's the lesson for me:

So, as a mom, am I setting the pace for my children, or am I letting my children set the pace? Yes, I admit that there are times when I should watch how my kids enjoy life and enjoy it just as much, but I'm not talking about those times right now. I'm talking about my attitude, my gratitude, my stewardship, my relationship with Christ, with my husband, with my family, and others I don't even know. I need to set that pace. They are watching me. Wow, what pressure!

But, I have a pace setter in my life, Jesus Christ. As I thought more about setting the pace, I thought of how one of the reasons God sent Jesus to earth was to set the pace for us...to show us how to love and how to live. Our family devotion last night was about Jesus' baptism by John. One of the points made in the reading was that Jesus was without sin, so he didn't need to repent or even be baptized, but, because He wanted to please His father, He was obedient.

He was our pace setter.

Thanks God, for giving us someone to keep up with. Thank you that we don't have to go through life without a purpose, without direction. Thank you that we don't have to wander around tripping over each other's feet. I'm sorry that we do. I'm sorry that we try to let other humans set the pace for our Christianity...for our churches by not keeping up with Your pace. Lord, I want you to set the pace for everything that matters in my life. I want to keep my eyes on you, keeping up with the pace you've set for your children.