Devotions With My Toddler

Near the end of the year I decided I needed to be more intentional about sharing the gospel with my little one. We have missed gathering with our church quite a bit recently due to illness and holidays, and, I’ll be honest, I don’t have my Bible out around her much at home. I don’t have my Bible out enough at home, period, but I’m afraid of it being torn to shreds if allowed within reach of the raging cyclone that is my sweet 21 month old.

For Christmas I gave Evelyn a copy of Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids along with the promise that we would read it together every night. I realize we're only a couple of weeks into the new year, but so far we haven't done too bad!

Now let me tell you what it’s like to do a devotion with a toddler:

Day 1: We kissed Daddy goodnight and went into her bedroom. But the light was on! The light is usually off by this time. Change in routine #1. I told her it was time to read our book, so, instead of snuggling up for our bedtime nursing session, I sat her on my lap and prepared to read. Change in routine #2. These are short devotions; a couple paragraphs at most, but Little E got very squirmy and antsy by the end of it. When we finished the devotion, I quickly looked up and read the corresponding scripture verses on my phone and then put the book on her bookshelf and it was back to our normal routine.

Day 2: Kissed Daddy goodnight and into the bedroom we go. The light was on again! I told Evelyn it was time to read our book and she started shouting “No! No! No!” Gee, that made me feel great. We wrestled through it, but didn’t read the scripture verses this time. I asked her to put the book back on the shelf this time. She liked that part and made sure it was standing up so that she could see the birdie on the front.

We continued that way for another night or two, but the wrestling seemed totally counterproductive. I was afraid that I might be making time with Lord something she dreads each day. I have to remember that she is not quite 2 years old. She’s her own little person who is exploring her independence, and doesn’t yet have the ability to understand the importance of spending time communing with her Heavenly Father. 

And then I felt like I was looking in a mirror! How often do I choose to do something else instead of delving into the Word? I haven’t fully grasped my need to draw myself close to Him either, but He meets me where I am. I need to extend that same grace to my daughter and meet her where she is. And where she is is all over the place! She’s a rambunctious toddler who doesn’t want to sit still!

For the last several nights, after goodnight kisses with Daddy, I have been asking Evelyn to bring me our book. She loves to help, so this suits her well. I read while she explores her room. She’s not necessarily focusing on what I’m reading, but at least she’s hearing it and I’m setting up the habit of having this time with God each evening. We’ve also added a short bedtime prayer once we turn off the lights and settle into our chair. I keep it short, just a sentence or two, because anything too long makes her get antsy and start fussing, but she will usually fold her hands and try to close her eyes and at the end she’ll giggle and say “ay-meem!” This has become a very sweet time for us and memories that I will certainly treasure. 

There have been a couple of nights where we waited too late for bedtime and she threw a fit at the mere mention of reading our book, so we've missed a couple of nights of reading but have still said our little prayer and then made up our missed readings later on. There have been a few nights where I've been tired and just wanted to get her in bed as quickly as possible because the dishes or laundry are waiting for me, but so far I have no allowed my own desires to to thwart our goal. I'm trying to shape a little heart here. The dishes can wait.