UNCOMMEN: Dads 2Намуна

Fill the Trust Bucket

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

If you want to develop a relationship with someone, you have to spend time earning their trust. You have to build that friendship and fill that trust bucket over time.

We recently converted about 10 VHS tapes to digital download so we could watch them for years to come without the worry of losing them to damage. We invited our sons over for dinner, and we watched some old movies. As the images flashed across the screen, I saw a range of emotions on each person’s face. Comments like, “aww…look how cute” and “look how young he was” and an odd, “people wore those kinds of clothes back then”?

But the one that stood out to me was when my youngest son saw how we invested time with him and his brother. They saw that we were there in thick and thin and everywhere in between. He watched birthday parties where I was dressed as Stinky the Clown for over 8 hours at his birthday party. He saw the humble beginnings of when we had nothing but each other and how happy we looked.

He got up from the sofa, gave me a long hug and told me he loved me. I had filled that trust bucket a long time ago, and he was too young to know I had. I never mentioned that I had, because that was not why I had put in the work. I did it because I love him and his brother and that is what a Godly dad does for his children.

But he had just learned how far back I had been filling that bucket, and it moved him to show me that he was thankful for that. I still fill that trust bucket every day with my family. It’s not just saying kind words; it’s showing the love of Christ Jesus. It’s not only serving them but challenging them to be Godly men. It’s not just spending time worshiping together, but being there when times are tough. We have a family motto: Wherever Together.

Uncommen Questions:

What do you do to build trust with your children? 

Do you spend the time with them because you want to or because you have to?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you if you haven’t filled that trust bucket with your children, start today. There is a hug waiting for you in the future. If you have filled that bucket already, fill it again, brother! Fill it till it overflows, because that is what Christ does for us daily.

Scripture Verse:
Proverbs 22:6