Approach, Sweet Friends
Every year, I like to choose “one little word” to frame the coming year. This word represents my hopes, my prayers, or some way that I sense God stirring and working in my life. This started for me several years ago. Cadence. Light. Home. Those are a few of the words from the last few years.
This year, it’s a fresh year and a new decade. Naturally, it seemed a great time to pilot something new. So on New Year’s Eve, I talked with my kids about choosing a word for their 2020. We had an interesting chat with words like “grow,” “learn,” and even “airplanes” in the mix of words that my kids were throwing out. I told them to take their time thinking about a word. I am still percolating on mine for this new year.
A few days ago, out of the blue while we were driving to the store, my daughter’s voice piped up in the back seat.
“I thought of another word,” she said.
It took my brain a second to figure out what she was talking about (no context, right?). But I quickly realized what word she meant.
“Oh yeah? What word?” I spoke over my shoulder.
“Approach.”
Approach. I mulled it over. Huh, I thought. It was not a word that I would have thought of.
Very curious, I asked, ‘and what would “approach” mean in your life in 2020?’
“Like to approach Jesus. To approach God. To go to Him…to be close to Him.”
I smiled.
Scripture reminds us that we can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). How can we do that? Through Jesus. Through faith. And my sweet 10 year old is internalizing that.
A Bible verse that keeps coming up is in Psalm 145: One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. This verse says that one generation will tell the next generation about how great God is. How powerful. How trustworthy. How good. And that will build up the faith of other generations.
We often think of that as older generations teaching younger generations. But what a gift that our younger generations declare God’s truth to the older as well. She’s learned that from other generations before her—from many of you who are speaking into her life. This is the beauty of being a part of the family of God. We declare God’s power, build the faith of the generations, and invite one another to approach Jesus with faith.
Family Life month is in full swing here at Faith Covenant. Come on Wednesdays and Sundays. You are a critical part of my family, my daughter’s family, and this church’s family—generations that get to build one another up.
Approach, sweet friends. Jesus loves you immensely. And so do we!
-Vicki Newendorp, Director of Children’s Ministry