I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
I just finished a chapter in Lysa Terkeurst book, The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained, and I was reminded (yet, again) of the priority of priority within my role as Mom.
Think about all the questions that rumble around in a mother's heart.
At this stage my questions are a lot like the following...
How are my kid's doing? Do they have good manners? Do they share well? Are they getting enough vegetables? Do they know they are loved? Are they secure?
As they get older I'm sure they'll be...
Are they being equipped to handle life outside the home? Do they handle wins and losses with grace? Are they getting a good education? Will they be successful in whatever job they land? Will they be responsible and productive?
On and on the questions tumble.
While I do want to equip my children to be well-rounded, responsible adults, I must not forget the most important thing. I must not get sidetracked by all the outward issues of manners and behavior and how they look and on and on and forget about their hearts.
I must place their relationship with Jesus at the top of the list. I must always ask: Am I fostering in them a desire for their own personal relationship with Jesus?
Here's the hard part.
They cannot know Him as Healer unless He has healed them in some way. They cannot know Him as Savior unless I help them understand what Jesus saves us from. They cannot know Him as Comforter unless He has comforted them in some way.
Do I as a mom try and take credit for making the way to healing possible. Do I run in to offer comfort and never allow them to experience the Comforter themselves? Do I try to fix everything in my child's life so they never have to deal with hardships?
No. I shouldn't. My job is to prayerfully help to a point and then step back and teach them how to run to Jesus themselves.
I loved the point Lysa made in the chapter when she said that always tries to keep the question of "What would honor God most in this situation" at the forefront of her mind...
Even in the simplest of situations with my children...Even at their young ages...I need to remember to ask this question.
Yesterday while we were running errands I discovered a tick on Ella. I tried to just pull it off but it was pretty stuck and I knew we needed to wait to get home and use tweezers to get it off. Seeing where we live, this was not the first time I've had to do this...so she knew it might hurt a little bit. Added to this apprehension was the fact that I couldn't take care of it right then. She had to wait. And therefore had plenty of time to work herself up about the impending pain.
I caught myself getting ready to offer her my assurances...when I remembered the above question. I stopped my words...and instead we prayed together for "Jesus to make her brave and not be scared."
The most important part of my job as Mom is to prepare my children to love and serve God.
Yet, so often I forget to ask God for his help in teaching them about Him.
So I've been challenged and reminded that He will inspire me and fill me with creative ideas for making Him real to them if only I will ask.
2 comments:
Great reminders, Jenn. The whole book is so full of these insights. I'm so glad you're enjoying it as much as I did!
Great post Jenn!! :)
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