Life has thrown me some curves this past month and some of them have been painful. Why is parenting so hard and painful sometimes? For those of you who don't know, my oldest child is almost 13 and then I have an 11 year old, 9 year old and 8 year old. So, can you guess which child is throwing me the curves? I won't reveal who it is but if you're a parent with children these ages, I'm sure you can guess.
I've often said this in conversations with others and I'll say it now. God has used parenting to help me understand how much He loves me and how much it hurts Him when I don't obey Him. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of lecturing one of my children and I can hear Him whispering to me, "That's exactly what I've been trying to communicate to you, precious Julie." Parenting is so humbling!
In some recent events I've come to realize how much truth there is to the fact that the training of our kids can't be done at school, church, or through any other institution other than within the walls of our home. Negative influences are everywhere and it's impossible to shelter our kids from them all.
One of the nuggets I learned in my Bible study this summer was that we are living in enemy territory. If we are followers of Christ we are literally walking around in this world with targets on our foreheads. If that's true for me why didn't I realize it's true for my kids who profess to be Christ followers? They, too, are walking around with little targets on their foreheads and the arrows are flying through the air in the hallways at school, on the playground, in the locker room, in the youth group, on the Internet, in the media, etc....
So part of me wants to crawl into fetal position on my bed and pull the covers over my head and then there is the part of me that cries out and says, "So do you really believe what you read in your Bible or what? Do you truly believe in a God who can move mountains and has already won the war? Do you really think He's giving up on your kids?"
And that's when God places that little mirror in front of me and says, "Julie, just like you wouldn't let any of your children give up on doing their best at school, or in their sport, or with their responsibilities, you can't give up on the task I've given you to train your children diligently, Biblically, and counter-culturally. I know it's hard. I know you won't get the most popular mom award and that some of your training may seem weird to even some of your Christian friends. Don't worry about all that. You stay close to me and take the time to hear my instructions and follow them and don't give up the fight."
After hearing those words, I take a big breath, shrug off the anxiety and control. that will only paralyze me. and remember, My God is big enough! There is nothing He can't do!!!!!
