The doubts roll in. Is God really watching over His children?
We try to seize control. What more can I do to keep them safe?
We question our worth. Have I failed as a mother?
We get angry. How dare the enemy attack my child?
We wonder if we can trust our child to do what's right the next time. Is her/his faith strong enough to withstand the temptation?
We toss and turn at night. We mourn. We weep. We are heartbroken.
But that's not God's plan for His children.
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2)
God's plan is for us to do the following:
Allow Him to build the house. God knows everything that is ever going to happen to our children. We live in a sinful world, and every one of us has a sin nature. There is an enemy who prowls the earth like a lion, seeking who he may destroy. The devil wants our children as much as he wants us.
As parents, it's up to us to train our children in the way they should go. In other words, it's up to us to teach them God's ways. We need to teach them to read His word on a daily basis, to pray, to live a life according to His will for us. We also need to rest assured that God will build them up on His Rock.
We need to trust that no matter what mistakes our children make or what tactics the enemy uses against them, God will heal them, use what was meant for evil for His good, and see our children through.
Sleep. Don't get up early or go to bed late because you're busy worrying about your children. That's not accomplishing anything other than wearing you out. God promises His beloved sleep. Peaceful sleep.
Be still and know that He is God. He has it all under control.
Bad things happen to good people, just like good things happen to bad people. It's part of life. Thankfully for those of us who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we have a peace that passes all of our earthly understanding. We have a Comforter who knows every groaning of our spirit man, every longing of our heart, and every need.
Rest in Him. Sleep. Restore your energy so that you can face whatever tomorrow brings.
And trust God to take care of your children. They are, after all, a heritage from Him. The fruit of our wombs is a reward. Hand your children back over to the God who created them and trust Him to complete the work He has started in them.
All so true - but also, I would add, letting go, trusting God to fulfill His promises, and knowing you can't 'save' your children, it's always going to be them, and their relationship with God that it boils down to. Those with adult children understand this all too well. It's hard, knwoing they made choices as children, and then make other ones, that look unwise to us, as adults. But we keep praying, no matter what we see, as we know God's hand is on their lives.
ReplyDeleteYes! As a parent of an adult child, I struggle with fixing it/letting him fall down. Thanking God He helps me discern when to just stay out of it-(and out of His way!)
ReplyDeleteThe key, to which you allude, rests in daily activity. Like the Olympian who determined to work for 15 minutes more a day after everyone else left the gym, we parents must continually and for just a little longer than the world, train our children so that they have an abundance of knowledge and experience before they encounter the difficulty. At CMCC, the Christian Academy does exactly that and the fruit of that glistens in the Son's glow.
ReplyDeleteSolid post, Alycia. A turning point in my parenting mindset was this: God loves them more than I do, and I'm just a steward for a season.
ReplyDeleteThat truth helped me understand that God was their ultimate Parent and I was to PARTNER with HIm!