“The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness…”—Ecc. 2:14
A favorite activity of the day in our household is family devotions because it allows us the opportunity to learn how the Bible integrates into everyday life. If properly understood and applied on a consistent basis, these lessons will enable our children to begin their journey with a huge step ahead of their contemporaries in many of the arenas of life. Having an eye for detail is one such example.
One anonymous, non-homeschooling writer puts it this way: “It should be the main purpose of school to train the child as an observer; he should not be taken out of the world of beautiful and interesting things and shut up to the letters and works of the schoolroom.” A pair of eyes that know how to properly engage the world through observation will see unlimited opportunities and gain invaluable insights. Take for example, the Christian comedian, Tim Hawkins. He has made a living simply by watching and reporting on the various idiosyncrasies of life within the Christian culture like hand raising in the church or how greeters sanitize—very applicable with the coronavirus!
Solomon makes an interesting connection by saying the eyes are in the head. In other words, we should be thinking about what we are seeing! The temptation in this terabyte fast society is to catch a glance of something unique and then rush right on to the next thing. We need to teach our children to ask questions about the things they see. What is the cause? How does it affect its surroundings? How does this glorify God? What are its implications and ramifications? You might be surprised what they learn. Samuel Brown, the inventor of the suspension bridge, said he learned how to build bridges by carefully observing spider webs. The foundation for James Watt’s steam engine was laid when he watched steam come out of a tea kettle on a stove.
This is yet another way that homeschooling shines. We parents should be cautioned about what we call “a waste of time” with our children. Let our children spend an hour watching the interactions of an ant hill. Beekeepers enthusiastically tell me of lessons they learn in observing their hives. Watching passing clouds on a spring day may elicit many questions about the atmosphere, weather, or the cosmos which could ultimately be used of God to open up to greater questions about creation or even salvation.
Some personality types are more likely to spot details in life than others. They are natural observers. Still, we parents should ask for God’s grace to help us see opportunities to train all our children to look for these small exclamation points in life. When you hear the question “Why?” for the fiftieth time in the day, realize this is God’s answer to your prayer! As our children learn to see with their eyes and then process with their mind, a brand new world will open up before them.
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