I could see it on his face and almost hear the wheels turning in his head.

We were on vacation, and as we approached lunchtime, the heat started to drain us. Our kids love doing high ropes activities; when we’re on vacation and able to find a nearby high ropes opportunity, we often splurge for the fun. We had completed two medium-level courses already that morning and decided to tackle a “hard” one before lunch. After successfully navigating a few of the obstacles, however, we had to make an early exit, climbing down a ladder strategically placed for just that purpose, after realizing that our son was dehydrated and needed to get on the ground to rest and drink water. 

He felt disappointed at not being able to finish the course, a normal reaction when we faced with some kind of defeat. But I could also see a deeper struggle going on in his mind and heart – an identity struggle. In that mundane moment, would he believe the internally-whispered lie that his value lay in what he accomplished (or didn’t accomplish), or would he remind himself of the gospel truth that his worth was found in his status as a child of God? 

As God’s children living in a fallen world, we must regularly preach truth to ourselves about whose we are. Opportunities abound for us to believe the lies that the world, the flesh, and the devil tell us about our need to perform or succeed in order to be loved, or at least in order to be loved more. Whether in the sphere of work, relationships, parenting, personal health, self-discipline, or even spiritual rhythms, we see our perceived failures and tell ourselves that we must do better in order to be more accepted. But the gospel truth is that we are already accepted, already bought at the highest price, already daughters of the King. Nothing we do or don’t do will change that.  

Our family eventually conquered that difficult ropes course after a good lunch and lots of water. But I intend to return to that teachable moment with my kids and remind them of the importance of preaching the gospel to ourselves each day, even in the mundane moments. Perhaps especially in the mundane moments.