Recently, I was working with some dads, offering some practical wisdom on raising truly great kids. In preparation for my talk with them, I was studying four types of “hearts” that I ran across from an “Dad” expert, and I thought they would resonate with my audience. These four virtues come from developing in your child a humble heart, a grateful heart, a generous heart, and a servant’s heart.
I want to focus here on the servant’s heart because I can think of no more meaningful experience to explore with your children than service for others. The life lessons and quality discussions that can come from serving with your kids will bring you dividend after dividend as you raise them.
Service comes in all shapes and sizes, but the fruit that comes with serving is the same. It is large. It is impactful. It is transformational. Since about 1999, I have been blessed to be in a position to take my own children — and hundreds of other people’s children — on dozens of mission trips. Some to France, some to Mexico, some to Nicaragua, some to downtown Denver and some right next door to my home. The distance of our travels hasn’t mattered nearly as much as the intentionality. There is something magical about taking your eyes off yourself and filling a significant need for someone else — and maybe for an entire family. It is humbling and an honor to work well and hard in service to someone else, and the chance to do so alongside your child is a chance to help them develop a servant’s heart.
These trips truly are life-changing. I’m still hearing from the dads and sons with whom I traveled several months ago to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, where we worked together to build a house for a family in need. The house we constructed was 22 feet by 45 feet to house a family of seven — small by American standards, but a larger dwelling than this family had ever owned. Over three days, our team measured, sawed, hammered and assembled. In the evenings, we would all come together to share about the things we saw, the things we experienced and the things we sometimes had no words for. So, not only did we get to build a house for a family, we dads also got to use the experience to mold and inspire our children.
To say that the fathers and sons with whom I served experienced positive life change is an understatement. Months later, many of the dads continue to share with me how helpful this experience was in their relationship with their child. Serving together as a family is special — and I promise it will grow fruit in your kid’s life that cannot be grown in any type of soil. That’s why Coach4Life will offer similar mission-trip experiences in the future. If you’re interested now, please contact me.