Saturday, my son got married. We celebrated as a family together with a ceremony, music, a dinner with over 200 of their close family and friends and, finally, with dancing. This wedding marks a milestone for me, now all of my children are married. We celebrated and remembered God’s faithfulness during this event. In big events like this Christian families like mine are good at making sure that we take moments to bring God’s place in this event to the front of our minds. There were times specifically that we talked about God and talked to God–both in the ceremony and at the reception. In small events in our lives we’re not quite so good. We need to be more intentional about bringing God’s place in our lives to the fore in our everyday lives.
In Seamless Faith: Simple Practices for Daily Family Life, Traci Smith gives many practical ways to make the practices of daily life practices of faith. For a high school graduation the author suggests giving a new pair of shoes or a gift card for shoes to the graduate. She includes the words to use for a ceremony or for a prayer such as: “God, thank you for being with (Graduate’s name) every step of the way, from preschool through high school. Please continue to guide his/her steps wherever you lead. Amen.” She also includes ways to vary or change the idea such as filling shoes with gift cards for gifts, making footprints when children enter school or decorating shoes.
There are literally dozens of other ideas in this this book for all stages of family life, including ceremonies for difficult times. It is a great resource for parents and grandparents who want to integrate faith into all the parts of life.
