Voila!

  While in France a couple of years back, we had a tour guide who was quite the cartoon character.  (Picture the seamstress in the cartoon movie, The Incredibles.)  She would explain about a landmark or an event and then she would say to her captive audience (complete with her French accent,) “Now Sur and Madame’s…follow my finger…” then she would point to a distant object or area and exclaim,

“Voila!”

     I can still hear the accent now and see her finger unfurling down some obscure street and giggling with my friend about her “tour” ability.

     Do you know the meaning of “Voila?”  Voila means, “There you have it!” or “What do you know?” or “There you are!”

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   There are plenty of books and plenty of blogs on how to parent. There are plenty of those who have “gone before.”  But who should we follow in parenting?

Matthew 17: 5  is the “Voila!”

“While He was still speaking a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “this is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ Listen to Him!”

     When we refer back to Matthew 17: 5 we see the most perfect example of parenting is our Heavenly Father.  In this one verse we can pull four points (or Voila’s) to hang our parenting aspirations on. 

First Voila! God claims His Son.   “This is My Son.”  God took ownership of Jesus.  He saw Him as His Son.  It is important that our children hear us calling them “ours.”  No matter how God placed the children in our home or in our care (through adoption, second or third marriages, foster care or through tragedy or loss.) Children need to know we identify with them.  They are “ours” sent by God alone.  He saw we would be the BEST parent for that child, and “Voila” that “baby” is yours. 

Let him/her know that you claim them. Make sure they hear the words from you and to others.  The message we are sending is, “I claim YOU!”

Matthew 17: 5 continues with, “whom I love.”  Voila! #2.  Our children need to know, that we don’t just trust the providence of God that they ended up in our home, they need to know WE LOVE THEM!!  In the middle of a mess or a masterpiece…we love them.  We need to publically declare our love, repeat our love and show them our love.

The third Voila! is our Heavenly Father says of His Holy Son, “I AM well pleased.”  God makes another public declaration, this time He said that Jesus made His Daddy proud.  How often do we tell our children we are proud of them?  Do we do it publically?  This isn’t to say our children are perfect.  It is to say to the child, I see this quality in you that makes me proud.

The final Voila! is God’s example when He tells all those who are with Jesus to “listen to Him.”  Do we publically affirm our kids?  Do we tell our children’s friends that they can listen to of our son or daughter?  (Need I remind you again? Our children aren’t perfect!)  However, we can tell other children the best quality of our child that they could follow.

How does this verse play out?  Let’s imagine that after church your son’s friends ask if he can go and play with them in the church playground.  Assuming all the other factors are favorable your response can reflect the Father. 

“MY guy? You know I love him, right?  He makes me so smile, but I’ll share him with you for about ten minutes.  He is super good about sharing, he will help you take turns throwing the ball.”

         The next time we wonder how to parent, “Voila!” just consult His Word!