Right Through Our Fingers

Have you ever sat and watched your little one drift off to sleep?

I have to admit I don’t always have the patience to do so, however, as a mother I sometimes find myself not being able to get enough of my kids. I look at my little ones and think they will never again want to “snuggle” in bed with me or I'll never again see their wobbly legs run towards me when I walk through the door. Times like that make every minute feel too short and I suddenly find myself just watching them drift to sleep as I stare in utter disbelief that I have been entrusted with such a special gift.

I don’t know why, but lately I can’t get it off my mind that my little boy will one day be a man and possibly lead other men into battle or even deliver newspapers. My girl will one day raise her own kids and minister to her husband in such a way that God demands. No matter what they do, they will encounter people in a very special way, but how will they deal with the issues of life?

I can’t help but think, what will they be like in their lives. Will they cower in fear as they run into obstacles? Will they become easily frustrated as their families wear their patience thin? Will they be able to give sound advice or meet basic needs to those who ask? What will their hearts be like? As fun and overwhelming as it can be to imagine what our children will one day become, we cannot overlook the impact we have as we raise them.

Their lives our in our hands. No we aren’t God, but for this portion of their lives we are all they know of God. Through our grace they will learn of His grace. Through our love they will learn of His love. But kids aren’t only looking at the good we have to teach them. They seem to have inclination more towards our “screw ups”. We aren’t perfect so we can not expect them to be. Yes, I get angry. When I do I am sure to tell my kids why mommy is mad and what I will do to fix the situation. Sometimes I am legitimately mad, in which Gods word tells us be angry, but sin not.

I am no expert at parenting so I have tried many different routes to get my kids attention and demand obedience.

However, the method that has worked the best for me and turned out to have the most instant results was to share my heart with them. When my daughter asked why I was sad, I told her. When she asked why I was upset, I told her. You know what happened, she started to share her heart with me. She has even started trying to “fix” my problems for me. For instance, yesterday I was doing my hair and my blow dryer kept falling on the floor. I was in a rush to get ready so I got so frustrated I just left the bathroom in a huff to “cool off”. Sounds petty I know, but we all have our little issues in life that bring up frustration. This is the good part. I came right back into the bathroom to find my little girl picking up the blow dryer when she commented “I fixed if mommy”.

By sharing my heart with her she began to see me as a human. One who makes mistakes, one who requires love and more importantly forgiveness. She is able to relate to me know which has opened her heart to listen to my requirements of her. Now when she disobeys me, she humbly breaks down in tears. You may say, my child would “NEVER” do that. She/he is to stubborn. Believe me, there aren’t many children that are more stubborn and strong willed than our girl. We have just learned how to reach her heart, and in doing so she has seen our hearts and our love for Jesus.
Raising children can be a long, frustrating road! One day you can be walking on air while the next you are seriously considering hanging yourself. Don’t let these vital years with your young ones slip through your fingers! Enjoy them and practice saying yes instead of no when all possible. Let them have an ice cream cone and “ruin” their dinner every once in a while. Let them stay up till midnight to watch the meteor shower.

These things are not eternal, but the learning the love of Jesus is.