It is easy to write how the day has gone, how the weather is feeling, and how the bills are (or are not) getting paid. It is easy to keep things surfacy. I am fed up with surface. Where are the difficult questions and why am I not asking enough of them? What are we really doing for the Kingdom? As I walk through my day, what is ETERNAL about it? I am making an investment, whether in the kingdom of the tangible and of the carnal, or is it in the ETERNAL? Either right or wrong, either closer or father away. Which is it? Jesus will not put up with us lukewarm. Right now. Where we are. Midstride... Yes or no? If we are ashamed of Jesus now, He will be ashamed of us before His Father, God. I cringe at the thought. But what am I doing? Am I satisfied with my testimony? I have 5 amazingly beautiful children. Are they all saved and living for Jesus? Would they be raptured if the trumpet were called right this minute? I can say yes to 2 only. That is a pathetic account, but it is the truth. My teenagers aren't sure what they are feeling and what their decision is. I will have to answer for that. When Jesus asks me what I thought the most important thing was, and I say,"To make sure they felt loved, taken care of, with intact senses of self", He will say not good enough. It is not good enough.
I am reading the Left Behind series right now and am in the middle of book number five. I realize this is fictional and they are living in a different time than I am, but the battle is just as fierce. Having to correct my children of picking up behaviors of the world seems like a neverending and defeating battle. I feel like sometimes I am going back to square one again, like I need to quit my job and focus on raising my children because they still act like they don't know that when the car is moving, the seat belts should be on. WHAT IS THAT? I have taught them that since day one of their riding in cars career and yet, 9 years later it has slipped their minds. I just want to sit in the middle of the floor and pull my hair out. I wonder if I am really doing anything, making any difference. As believers, our children and we are called to be set apart from the world. Where they are permiscuous, we are to be modest and reserved. Where they are loud and brash, we are called to the gentle and quiet spirit. Where they are all about themselves, we are to glorify our Lord instead. Why? Besides being obedient to the Word, it is because we have to recognize that we are SPECIAL. When we waste ourselves on the frivolity of the world and don't see ourselves as precious and created entirely beautifully, we are wasting ourselves, and when something is used over and over again for nothing special, then we become nothing special. Would you wear a tuxedo or a formal dress to breakfast everyday? No! That sounds ridiculous. Wearing it over and over again for a casual occasion totally takes away the purpose and special feeling of that outfit. Right? As a result, we have to keep ourselves for the special occasion we were designed for. A mother with a calling to love her husband and raise her children with an annointing. A father to lead his family in righteousness. Ministers who have hearts for intercessory prayer, healing, evangelism, encouragement, whatever. These are our formal occasions to become the people that glorify the Lord. Glorify.
Lord, be magnified in me. I love you so much. I could never express how grateful I am to have the next breath that you have ordained in my body. Thank you for changing the heart in my chest. Thank you for giving me beauty for ashes, gladness for mourning, strength for fear, and creating in me a woman of modesty. When I look in the mirror, I see a little girl who can recognize that her Daddy is working on her behalf. I can feel the once broken heart strengthening in the face of challenge. It is all You, Father. My Daddy, Abba Father. I praise Your Holy Name.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
1 comment:
Perseverance...that is the only thing I can think to say. You are not just working with one teenager, you are working with 3...or against might sound like a better word at times. It is always hard for teenagers, as you well know. There is that need for independence and individuality and the thought that they are an adult and know best for themselves. But you are setting an amazing example for your children. You are showing them what it is like to have the Lord as such a huge part of your life. While they might not see it now, I firmly believe that one day they will. They will realize all that you have done for them and how important a role you have played in their spiritual lives. I feel like being a teenager is not only a test for the teenager themselves, but it is also a test for the parents. They have to survive it and parents have to remind themselves again and again that it is not only our job to love them and to help them, but more importantly ____ more years and they'll be gone. But I know that you can do this And they are good kids!!!! You have raised them so well and I know that they will be fine. You just need to trust in that.
Post a Comment