Unmemorable Memories

I’d like to instill Seventh-day Adventist beliefs to my dear Caitlin Ema. She is at an age when she will absorb everything she can experience through her senses. It becomes critical then that whatever I teach her via verbal instruction must match her experience.

Adventists believe in certain lifestyle principles. As an Adventist I’d like to instill those principles in her now. After all the wise man said “Train up a child in the way she should go, for when she is old, she will not depart from it.” So at this very young age of two, I need to give her instruction. And not only that, my instruction must match her experience. I need to give her an example. If I tell her that sharing is good, I should model that and she needs to see me share what I have, not only with her but with others as well. If I tell her that we don’t eat certain foods, or consume certain drinks, I should model that as well. If I say that Adventists should dress modestly, then I should do that as well.

There is a problem when she sees others who claim to be Adventists yet violate the aspects of Adventism which I’ve been trying to teach her. How do I explain to her the mismatch in behavior and belief which she observes? What if that mismatch was seen in family members? I cannot say, “they are not true Adventists”… or can I? I’d like her to stay close to family members, because I love them dearly. Yet I do not want to be put in a position to explain why their lifestyle attitudes are different when they claim to believe the same things I believe in.

Some may think I’m being superficial by focusing on external things. It’s not that I’m fixated on these external things. Caitlin is young. She sees the external things. I can attempt to explain to her the depth of God’s love, and the concept of a relationship with Christ, that we need not look at the external appearances because God looks within the heart, and … Somehow I don’t think she can grasp that concept yet.