Tonight I had dinner with a good friend to celebrate her birthday. Jim took the kids to the park and they all got in the spa together before their baths. I so miss Jim and the kids when I am away from them but I am a true believer in having "breaks" to revitalize the "mommy" in me. I've had some conversations with friends lately that have gotten me to thinking about how difficult it is to parent in today's world. Of course, I don't expect that raising children will be problem-free. But, I do feel as though I am at an advantage because I have God to lean on and to guide me (I should say "us"). Ultimately, He is in charge. But, I can't help but feel double the pressure...God entrusted these two beautiful, healthy children to Jim and I...and He does have expectations as to how we raise them. So, not only do we have the pressures of raising them in a very scary world, we have the ultimate pressure of raising them as God would want us to. It's so easy to fall into the ways of the world...especially when it comes to raising children. Kids feel pressure to conform to the children they go to school with and play with....and that makes the work twice as hard for the parent. To be honest, at times I feel as though I am just floundering around like a fish out of water. Then, I read a recent post from Dennis' blog (remember him from a few days ago?). This verse can not only be applicable to raising children in today's world but it is also applicable to anyone going through a difficult trial in their life. His post was from Isaiah 43:2-5....it says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, . . . for I am with you." Reading that was very comforting to me....because sometimes I really do feel alone and have no idea what to do. When I'm in those moments of parent-guilt or disciplining a child when I don't want to be the "bad guy"...when I'm questioning my own parenting skills.....I have to always stop and ask myself if this is what Jesus would do? Is this what God would expect of me? Would God be proud of my words or actions? If I always function with those questions in mind (in parenting and otherwise), I will never have anything to feel bad about, ashamed of or guilty for.....
1 comment:
In Isaiah 41:10 it says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Feeling fear isn’t wrong, but normal. I read somewhere that “doing it afraid” is what makes the difference. God says He will never leave us or forsake us. So we can’t spend time creating fear with “what ifs”. We have to let God replace our fear with faith and peace. If we are determined to fulfill the purposes of God for our lives we must resist giving into fear and push through even if we have to do it afraid. That is the story of my life. I look back on what I have accomplished in this life and I recognize that the only way was with God. When I was working on my Masters and still working full time and taking care of a family, I know that my strength came from the Lord. When I first considered doing the masters I had major misgivings, thinking that there was no way……… and the next thing you know I was receiving my diploma. When I had two little babies while I was trying to keep the reins on three teenagers, only God could keep me going.
We can’t separate the spiritual and the secular. Our lives are filled with things we must do, things we choose to do, things we are gifted to do, commanded to do, called to do….. Like you said Nancy, we are sinners and we won’t always let the Holy Spirit permeate our lives. But we are on a Christian adventure and we need to jump In with both feet and enjoy it – even the disciplining of our kiddies.
Love, Mommy
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