“Why do I need to learn to ride a bike?” This is what Jax asked as we stood on the bike path with tears running down his face.

“Because everyone learns to ride a bike.”

“Because you are going to want to know how to ride your bike.”

Those were the short-term answers I came up with on the spot. However, there was a long-term answer as well. In many ways, a much more important answer, yet much harder to explain.

Jax learning to ride his bike would require much of him. He would have to overcome paralyzing fear. He would have to be determined. He would have to get back up when he fell. It would require him to work hard and not give up. For Jax to learn to ride his bike, he would have to believe he could do it! He would have to believe in himself!

Do these requirements sound familiar? Of course, they do! They are the very attributes of any successful person. To overcome challenges in life, whether it be riding a bike, getting into college, starting a successful business, or building a rocket ship, you must possess and exhibit these characteristics.

Jax has such great aspirations for his life. He wants to be a writer. He also wants to be a Disney Imagineer. So, that was my answer to his question.

“Why do I need to learn to ride a bike?”

“So you can be a successful writer and a Disney Imagineer!”

He looked at me puzzled. He didn’t see the connection, so I tried to connect the dots. I explained to him that the very attributes he was learning through this process of riding a bike were going to later enable him to take on the challenges of becoming a writer and an imagineer.    Although he had thought about writing and imagineering a ton, it had not occurred to him how difficult it would be. He hadn’t realized that it wasn’t just going to happen someday, but that he must prepare for it.

And the preparation starts now.

The lesson I’ve been learning from this interaction is that as we parent our kids, we need to remind ourselves to not just focus on the task at hand (i.e. riding a bike), but also the long-term goal. We need to remember to apply each lesson to the big picture of life. I find this exercise incredibly important, because just like it comes at us, life is coming at our kids. Seemingly faster and faster every day. The challenges, obstacles, and tragedies are coming. There is no avoiding them. There is only possessing the attributes and characteristics necessary to take them on and overcome them.

It is our responsibility to instill these in our children every chance we get, whether it is through learning to ride a bike, learning to make a bed, or taking them on a mission trip.

Ride a bike, write a book.

Learn to make a bed, design a theme park.

Serve on a mission trip, become a missionary.

Seize these opportunities and make the most of them. They won’t always be there. As parents, we are tasked with laying the foundation blocks for our children’s success. Our ability to do this well, laced by God’s grace, will lead to legacies in our children that will make the Lord so proud.  Legacies that will change the world!

And that is important, because legacies matter!

 Oh, back to the learning to ride a bike part, check it out!