Hebrews 12:11 (NIV) “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
That is EXACTLY what I want!! I want a “harvest of righteousness and peace” for my children. My goal as a mother is to help guide them along a path that will create such a wonderful spiritual setting in their lives. So, that begs the question; How on earth am I going to sew the seeds that will reap such a bountiful harvest? The key is in the second word of that verse, “discipline”.
Discipline is one of those words that everyone seems to hate. It brings about negative connotations and feelings of belittlement. I’ll admit it definitely doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies either. Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. Discipline is also a word that means “to train, or having training in” an area of study. If I look at the word discipline as a focus or training, then my mothering skills must change. I can’t admonish my children in anger, bringing down punishments in an iron fisted manner if I want them to learn discipline…meaning I want them to become little people who’s actions are trained in such a way that they can be examples of God’s love to others.
So, what am I to do? I don’t think there is a magic fix. I firmly believe that my Heavenly father is teaching me this “painful” lesson so that I can better model the behaviors that I want my children to exude. After all, no technique, tip, book of plans, or specific type of discipline is nearly as effective as modeling. The old “do as I say not as I do” trick definitely doesn’t work with little ones. As I strive to seek God’s word and desires for how I parent, I will be better able to model what I want my children to become. After all, that is exactly what God has been doing for me all along, I was just to stubborn to see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment