Posts
Rob and I attribute the transformation to a number of things, each a good lesson in Godly parenting:
- Pray! God's word says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7) and "Pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17). We prayed for this situation for years, believing (most of the time anyway) that it would improve someday.
- Become consistent! God admonishes parents not to exasperate their children (Eph. 6:4). Inconsistent parenting is irritating to children. It sets them up to fail. It's not just about consistency with one child, but consistency with all the children. Don't come down harder on the oldest, because they're older. And don't let the youngest get away with things, just because they're "so cute." (Not that kids should be treated exactly the same. Family expectations should be uniform, though. Individual discipline should fit each child's personality.)
- Become united. Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." While Rob and I always agreed with one another in theory, we did not always have the same passion to follow through. One of us would grow weary and let things slide. It wasn't until we both decided that under no circumstances would we bend or waver did our child's behavior begin to change.
- Become patient. God works in our hearts long before it shows. Mark 4:26-28 says, "...A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head." Just like a grain must germinate before it becomes a plant, our children must work through what we teach, practicing and processing it before they can apply it. It takes time to learn obedience and good decision making, just as it takes time to learn to walk. We may not see it happening, but it is.
- Have fun! "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth." (Psalm 100:1). God wants us to enjoy our lives. Make noise together. Play together. It's important to enjoy one another, even though parenting is hard.
Through our battles, God developed each of these things in Rob and me. I am not the same mom I was five years ago. Or a year ago, even. With God's help, I have changed, just as my child has.
2 comments:
It's wonderful that you are witnessing these changes in your child and that you see God working throughout. I will just offer a word that perhaps other parents are thinking: will God come through for ME with my difficult child? And if He doesn't, why not? Did I not pray enough, or correctly? Was my discipline off? Godly parents who "do all the right things" can still experience years and years of heartache. Their child might even reach young adulthood and not exhibit the changes we desire. I have witnessed this first hand.
Thank you, Karen, for the excellent precepts, but they are no guarantee for impacting children on our timeline.
I agree, completely.
Life is not so much about the outcome as it is about living by faith, trusting God with the outcome and choosing to live a fully devoted life in the meantime.
Living fully devoted to him includes diving into God's word, asking Him to reveal those places in our hearts that aren't His yet (selfishness, pride, inconsistency, anger, bitterness), and living in joy, peace, hope and love as we trust Him with the outcome of those things we can't change - other people, even our kids.
Love you.
Post a Comment