Relationships and Conversations

Dawn Marcotte
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

People don’t come to a specific faith because they read a book or see an inspirational speaker. People come to a faith because they know someone who lives that faith and they see something different about that person’s life that is interesting.

For example, helping your children with homework. I don’t know about you, but this used to be about 45 minutes of arguing at our house, followed by about 10 minutes of actual homework. I never understood why my kids had to fight with me so much about doing the work — if they would just sit down and do it they would be done so much faster.

My kids had a specific homework time, right after dinner and before they could watch any television. One night, as we finished dinner I prayed out loud,

“O God, please help my children to do their homework tonight without arguing about it.”

They were so shocked the first time I did that, they just sat down and did their homework.

The next night I tried it again and this time I got eye rolls and some arguing anyway. It never really worked again, but it opened their minds just a little so that when the oldest was assigned a larger project and felt really overwhelmed I was able to show her how faith applies to her life.

I worked with her to break the project down into smaller, manageable steps and pointed out to her that she could only do what she could do each day. I asked her to ‘Let Go and Let God.’ To trust that if she followed the plan we had laid out for her, He would take care of the rest.

She finished the project on time and everything worked out. She didn’t suddenly become a faithful person, but again, she was more open to prayer as an option, and thus, more open to building a relationship with God.

This was the first concrete example of how faith can help us with the difficulties in life that resonated with her. She is someone who needs concrete proof before she fully believes.

Since that time, I have tried to be deliberate in how I react to the difficulties life has thrown at me. It isn’t that I don’t get mad or frustrated, but I do deliberately try to let them see me say a prayer. I try to point out to them when and how God answers my prayers. I show them that knowing God loves me and having faith that He will provide for me makes flat tires, car accidents, lost jobs and someone eating the last of the ice cream less traumatic for me.

I have a firm foundation that doesn’t waver, just because my circumstances change.

I also spend some time volunteering, both at church and in the community. I encourage them to do the same. I want them to see that living my faith means taking care of others, both in my family and in the community.

I think that for teenagers the key to keeping the faith is concrete evidence that it works. That faith makes things better.

Here are some quick ideas for living your faith so your teen notices:

· Pray out loud for them — keep it simple and short, “God please watch over my child today.”

· Ask them questions about their interests, then listen

· Talk to them about interesting things you hear or read that are related to your faith.

My youngest daughter routinely asks me why I volunteer so much at church, why I read the bible every day and why I go to mass every week. I don’t tell her it is because I have a lot of faith, I tell her it is because it helps me be a better person.

This is often followed by a spirited discussion about what I believe — the specifics of my faith. Sometimes it is abortion, sometimes it is same-sex marriage and sometimes it is going to church weekly. The subjects vary, but I figure if she is willing to ask questions at least she is thinking about it. I know that my faith can handle these hard questions — even if I don’t always have the answer.

Follow me on Facebook for more ideas on living our faith in the real world.

Dawn Marcotte

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I am a christian mom with teens who are really pushing me to articulate why I believe what I believe. My Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/Authentically