One of our objectives in spending an evening up the canyon was to encourage our children to pause and allow the beauty of our physical world to teach them something about God’s love for us. As I thought about this, I felt a desire to sit quietly somewhere with paper, paint, pencils and easel.
I realized that although I would be busy holding little ones, I could provide such an opportunity for my children. We packed pencils, crayons, drawing paper, journal paper and pens with us. After enjoying our picnic, we invited the children to look around, to observe and ponder how our surroundings testified of our loving Heavenly Father.
Some of them chose to use the supplies I’d brought to capture the images they appreciated most. It was gratifying to observe how much they enjoyed the experience (mostly the girls; the boys preferred to walk around and explore).
As I watched them, I realized that I need to slow down more often and allow time for my children to really observe and digest what is going on around them. I need to be more intentional about planning opportunities such as this, and bringing materials with us so that we can enjoy creative expression “on location”.
I also realized that rather than saving these activities for later, I need to push them now so that they’ll be interested in them when they’re older. Too often I avoid the stress of dragging them all out of the house in favor of the familiar routine, but I could easily do more of this in my own backyard. All it takes is thought and planning. I’m continually amazed at how much of motherhood is planning, praying, thinking, planning some more.
This last picture is particularly precious to me. My beautiful daughters, absorbed in their creations, with a colorful hill as the backdrop. Yes, we will definitely be doing this again.
What thoughtful outing has your family enjoyed recently? I’m looking for ideas! Please share.
Hopeful Homemaker
