The Father Abraham Mystery Walk

Have you ever taken a Mystery Walk? I have, and we all take them every day. Because when we come right down to it, life is a mystery. We can’t know what tomorrow holds, or even if we will have any tomorrows. And it’s sometimes tricky to know which path to follow, let alone explain it to our kids!

Well, here’s a fun and educational activity you might want to try. A Family Mystery Walk, led by Father Abraham! Kids love this activity, especially if you build up the mystery of it, because they love surprises! If you want, you can simply use this as a fun family activity. Exercise and fresh air never do any harm. And fun family times are something kids always treasure!

Teach your kids to follow God

Use the Mystery Walk as an opportunity to talk about the mystery of following God. Tell how God called Abraham to leave his home, country, and family (Genesis 12). And that he didn’t even know where he was going! Bring out how scared and confused he might have felt.

Explain that God did it because he had a broader plan for Abraham’s life. He wanted him to leave his people because had become evil. And he wanted Abraham to live in a different way.

It seems crazy to start a trip without knowing where you’re going. But God always knows the right direction to lead us. And he calls us to obey, even when it makes no sense.

Steps for taking the Mystery Walk

⌚ 1. Set a time limit or you might go in circles for a long time.

🪙 2. Use a coin to determine which direction to take:

⬅️ Heads means turning left until reach the next decision point.
➡️ Tails means turn right.
⬆️ In case of a dropped coin continue straight ahead.

🏡 3. Start out by flipping the coin in front of your house, and continue by flipping it at each corner or every few corners.

🗨️ 4. As you proceed, explain how Abraham instead of flipping a coin prayed, asking God to direct his footsteps.

🙏🏽 5. Tell them they can pray too.

✝️ 6. And then teach them 6 principles for learning to follow God, step by step!

6 principles that explain what it means to F-O-L-L-O-W God

🇫 Fellowship with God. Teach them to pray so that they can get to know him, and recognize his voice.

🇴 Obey God by doing what you know is right. Ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” And then do that!

🇱 Listen to the guides God puts in your life. Like parents, family, pastors, and Sunday school teachers.

🇱 Love God’s Word. Read the word to and with your kids so that they will learn to love it, learn from it, and how to obey it.

🇴 Observe what happens around them. God often uses circumstances and events, like he did by using the famine to move Abraham to Egypt.

🇼 Worry not. Following God is stepping into the unknown. It’s scary and confusing, but God promises to lead us and care for us.

Make it practical

Now make it practical and help your kids face their unknowns. Because kids do face them, though we sometimes forget that.

Perhaps your family is planning a move. That’s an unknown, especially if they’ve never lived anywhere else. Maybe a family member is quite ill. Another unknown. Or even wondering what they’ll be when they grow up – kids usually do!

Teaching kids how to walk with God can help them face the unknowns in their life and face them with peace and tranquility.

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Life is full of unknowns. But these 6 simple steps to following God can make it a bit easier to understand. And be sure to remind them that we have something Abraham didn’t have! We have the Word of God to light our path. And it shows us not only the way to walk, but how we should walk it.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

Psalms 119:105 CSB

Learning to follow and obey God is a lifelong lesson. Start now teaching kids to read the signposts, while they’re still at home and you can guide them. Help them see that even though it can be scary, following God is also an exciting adventure along a sure path!

And who knows, perhaps they’ll grow up to kill giants, or rescue their people like Queen Esther did!

Images: Family walking by Caleb Oquendo. | Family artwork by Sketchify | Image by Sketchify Emojis from Emojipedia.