Embracing Faith

When we chose a school for the kids here in Shanghai, there were so many factors that played into it -- proximity to home and work, teachers and curriculum, repatriation factors, language opportunities, extra-curriculars, reputation, testing scores, campus and more. When choosing Concordia, the Christian foundation was an added bonus for us. We hadn't attended parochial school at home, the kids weren't enrolled in weekly bible study, nor did we worship as regularly as we wished. But, what we've found is that this school, and it's foundation, have blessed us in more ways than we could imagine.



There is an intangible benefit to understanding more about your Creator. In just four months, Cade and Layna practice giving back and understand charity, they pray for forgiveness of sins when they treat each other poorly, they lead dinner prayers daily to thank God and ask Him to watch over our family. But most importantly, they celebrate Christmas for the right reasons.

Take their school Christmas performances, for instance. For weeks, we've listened to the kids rehearse their lines, remember the words, coordinate the actions, and now it was show time! I assumed, like every music concert that I've attended, that the kids would belt out the words, motions would be off beat, and we'd laugh through most of it.

Instead, I found it heart-warming. I teared up when the sweet little kindergartener whispered solely into the microphone: "I love you Jesus," and I was moved when the children, as a group, sang Happy Birthday Jesus, quietly and in Mandarin. It made generic caroling feel so superficial. These kids were truly embracing the gift of Jesus and it was special.

Now don't get me wrong.... they had fun shaking their booties and singing their hearts out, but there was a meaning behind the words they were singing. They understood them. And for that I feel so blessed.

That said, I hope that we, as parents, can continue emphasizing the importance of our faith in all that we do. And next week as we celebrate Christmas, we will be reminded of His birth and this gift that we are given every day.