Hi, I’m Jill. I’m a children’s ministry pastor, and I’m a new mom. Welcome to this family ministry conversation! I’ve always said the blessing was an important part of children’s and family ministry. We’ve done it at Sunday school, parenting classes, and even after volunteer trainings.
But it wasn’t until I had my daughter that the blessing really became a priority in my home. And I think it’s because when I look at her sweet little face, I just see this fully intact little life. And I want so badly for that to be maintained in her as she grows.
We must believe that our words are powerful in the lives of our children.
And when I look at the world and the voice of the culture that she’s going to grow up in, it seems to me that it will aggressively try to convince her of who she is and why she’s not good enough. It will be unkind and critical and judgmental and, not only that, it will be all lies.
So I’ve got to do something about it. And that’s why I feel like a blessing is such an intentional way parents can influence their children. It can help their children to know that they can claim the promises of God, and they can speak truth into their children’s lives and help build a foundation of their identity. We must believe that our words are this powerful in the lives of our children.
Blessing Wasn’t Natural for Me
Now, at least for me, when I started doing blessing, it wasn’t a very natural thing. I was very nervous that I would say the wrong thing. I didn’t know how receptive people would be to receiving a blessing.
But after sticking with it and getting over my own awkwardness, what I found was that it seems just about everyone is living in a blessing deficit. And what I mean by that is it seems that when you’re speaking this truth and this love over people, their expression shows that they might not have heard anything positive about themselves in weeks.
And so at the end of a spiritual parenting class when you look out over the faces of all your parents and you can see that some of them haven’t even left the room, and they’re already anxious about whether or not they can do this.
That’s the perfect time to offer a blessing and the truth and to send them out in the power of the Holy Spirit, and then you see the physical change in their posture and in their expression—they believe they can do it.
Why I Started Blessing in My Home
Now, because blessing didn’t always feel natural to me, I wanted to start blessing in my home already even when my daughter was just an infant. So now right before bedtime, I’m holding her and I look into her sleepy little eyes, and I just tell her who God desires her to be and that she is fiercely loved by mom and dad.
And this time is as much for me as it is for her. Because I’m hoping that this routine will become a rhythm of her life. Because I know that when she grows, there will be more opportunities to speak blessing into her life when she’s made a mistake or when she forgets who she is or is uncertain about her future.
I want to know that I can take those opportunities and speak truth into her life and help her to live in the boldness of the Holy Spirit and just trust that God will make this voice of truth louder than anything else that my daughter might listen to in the world.
