08 Aug Trusting the Lord with our Children in Troubled Times
These are hard times. We have major trials in our country and around the world. And each of us personally have trials in our hearts and families.
I think of how Jesus said do not be troubled.
“Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold onto it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in me.” John 14:1 Amplified
Recently I was feeling weighed down by the cares of this world. Ongoing medical decisions weigh heavy for our son Jeremiah. As different events unfold across the globe what do I share with my children and when? How do I train my children to love others well? How do I protect? How do I help them grow into ones who sacrifice for others? How do I trust God when it is easy to be overcome by fear?
The meditations of my heart and actions of my days impact my peace and confidence as I walk forward.
First I recognize they are not mine. My precious children belong to God and I have been given the privilege of being their steward. They are His. He loves them more than I.
This is not a platitude to me. As I watched my young son suffer so long through cancer treatment these words were at times a life line to my heart. When I didn’t understand. When watching him suffer felt like too much. God loves my son perfectly. We have a good heavenly Father.
I can trust that He has great plans for my son and my other children. God asks me to carry my cross and he asks the same from my children. Oh that is hard. What a holy gift to care for these little persons so loved by God.
Prayer and radical acceptance
I need to be praying for my children. I am called to care for my children – their bodies, their emotions, and their spirits. What is one way I can impact them that will outlast my earthly life? Prayer.
I can pray about current needs and pray far into their futures. I can pray for their hearts as they grow older, that they would love God deeply, serve Him with loving sacrifice. I can pray for their potential spouses and families, their health in old age, and the list goes on. I have personally witnessed the power of prayer and am convicted to pray over their lives. Some of the impact will only be known in heaven.
The next has to do with the heart. God asks that I radically accept that this is the time God purposed them to live. My children have been created for such a time as this. God has created them to love Him and to do good works.
Training
I am a teacher, telling them of their calling. Their call to love God and to love their neighbor. To experience the joy of relationship with Jesus. To learn about Him and to worship Him. Their call to be people who forgive, who return good for evil, who take up their crosses and follow Him, who share Jesus freely with others, who treat all people with respect and honor, and who care for the needy.
I want my children to see such value in every human being that whoever is before them whether they are homeless or the president or whether they are disabled or a professional athlete that person would feel like the most important (or better yet the most loved) person in the world.
Contending for trust
The cry of my heart is to choose to parent from a place of trust in Christ instead
of from a heart of fear. I see some decisions are made from fear. I want to commit to regularly checking my heart and reaffirming as necessary my choice to parent from a place of trust. To also allow God to reveal and work in my heart as needed to show areas that need love and healing so deep trust can be fostered.
“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” Prov. 3:5-6
We have minds made to learn. But where is our reliance? In what we know or in who our Lord is?
Please share any additional thoughts you have on how we trust the Lord in our parenting! Thanks for sharing!
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