In our particular family unit, we allowed the
children/grandchildren to win games when they are very young. However, sometime between 5ish and 8sh, we
welcome them into the real world and if they win at something, it is because
they actually did win.
From playing Chess, Checkers, Card Games, Running, Soccer or
any kind of game, it is a fun moment in our family to see our kids/grandkids
enter the age of accountability.
Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, but all the time they know that
it is up to them. They reach an age when
there are no more easy wins.
This past Thanksgiving, my second grand daughter and I,
agreed to a friendly competitive Jumping Jacks contest. The first round, shortly after passing 310,
she dropped out at 315. The next day,
after a huge Thanksgiving meal, and before dessert, I asked her if she wanted a
re-match.
We began, and shortly after passing 400, a small crowd of
family members gathered and began taking photos and helping us count. Neither of us had ever passed into the
territory of multiple hundreds of Jumping Jacks. The land of 500, 600, and 700 was reached and
crossed. We were grinning at each other,
as the family gathered and helped count.
Shortly after 800 she began to waiver and backed up a little too much
and fell back on a step. She didn’t
rise, and was willing to concede, and a new Thanksgiving Tradition may have
begun.
When and if she surpasses me in Jumping Jacks or any other
game, she will have earned it. It didn’t
really bother her too much to lose, as she has already learned the real world of
winning and losing in competitions.
She has willingly accepted the Lordship of Christ and by all
accounts has reached her age of accountability and is beginning the process of
growing in her relationship with God, through Christ Jesus. In her family unit, physical exercise and
healthy living is a part of who she is becoming. It didn’t crush her spirit to lose a spontaneous
competition with her grandfather. She is
resolved to continue becoming a healthy, physically fit human being. If a spontaneous competition arises in the
future, she will most likely be the winner, and it will be a reward for
reaching the age of accountability and choosing to live her life in a rewarding
way.
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