God is doing a work in me. I asked
for Him to help me become a better mother. More specifically, I asked God to
help me stop yelling. In two days, He brought 3 verses to my heart, all through
different means. Verse 1: (read when doing devotions with my children)
Proverbs 4:11 (NIV) “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along
straight paths”.
Verse 2: (heard on KLOVE as the
encouraging word of the day) Proverbs 9:9 (New Living Translation)
Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the
righteous, and they will learn even more. Verse 3: (found in a book I was
reading to my children before nap time) Col 3:23 (NIV) Whatever you do, work at
it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Can you
see a theme here? Apparently, I need a healthy dose of wisdom and perspective
realignment.
Now, I have read all of these verses
at one time or another in my life. Yet, this time, they struck a chord in my
heart all together different than any other time before. It is like listening
to a similar song, but sung in a different key.
“Instruct the wise, and they will be
even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more”. When the DJ
read that verse on KLOVE, my heart sang out, “This is for you!” OK, I am not
wise, but I guess you can count the fact that I have 4 children as a steep
learning curve. I have learned SO much about parenting. In fact, you could say
that I have learned just enough to know that I know nothing (please excuse the
circular logic here). If I look at that verse in connection with Proverbs 4:11,
it indeed seems to fit. I asked God for wisdom, and He is guiding me. Yes, I do
know a lot about parenting, but God intends to teach me more. Because He first
loved me, and I love Him, I am indeed counted among the righteous, even though
I completely and totally do not deserve that designation. How precious that is
to me! God loves me, and he wants to teach me how to do this job we call
motherhood.
Later that same day, as I was
reading a cute little story to my girls before nap time, I was almost struck
dumb when the closing verse implored to all that, “Whatever you do, work at it
with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” I had to swallow
and blink back the tears. As I tucked the girls in, I wandered out of their
room with a refreshed perspective. I am not parenting for my own good. Neither
am I parenting for the good of my children. Nope. We aren’t the most important
beings here. It seems that I forgot that I am parenting for the good of the
Lord. This is the job he has given to me. This is the skill set I need to hone
and sharpen. This is why he refused to take my voice from me. It was the easy
way out.
So, for the first time in a long time, I actually enjoyed playing with my kids.
We finished school work, did our chores, and packed up for a trip to my
favorite Chick-fil-A. While there, I giggled and smiled, chased and tickled,
and thanked the Lord that I could take 4 blessings with me to eat lunch and
play on the playground at Chick-Fil-A on a Tuesday morning.
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