This article is geared to all those who are raising children (or raised your children already) as we all need some encouragement and support.
As a mother of seven adult children, grandma of 19 grandchildren, Sunday school teacher for over 35 years, babysitter of countless children and auntie to blood-related children and unrelated children, I’ve had plenty of experiences with the antics of young ones. So much so, that some have wondered if I really do have eyes behind my head.
Lets just admit that parenting can be very hard especially as the teen years and young adult years come. We do our best to raise our children to be honorable human beings who want to do the right thing. And yes, we make mistakes and blunders as we teach and train the precious ones with whom God blessed us. However, at the end, each child makes his/her own decisions whether to obey our instructions or to disobey. A child is not a parent’s puppet just as we are not God’s puppet. God gives us free will to obey Him or to disobey.
I admit that some children have a stubborn streak which challenges a parent’s resolve. You may wonder if this youngster will ever follow instructions and your guidance. You want what is best for your child yet, the boundaries continue to be pushed and the parent prays for the offspring. Prayer is the best solution to ALL situations. Go to the One who knows.
How does He know? Lets go back to the beginning of creation. God created a beautiful and perfect universe (and beyond). After each day of His creativity, He said, “It is good.” For five days, God made everything, but it’s the sixth day that man was created. At the end of this day, God said, “It is very good.” God looked at all that He brought into being and thought mankind was the best of everything.
Why? All mankind would be able to have a relationship with their Creator. Mankind would have a free will to choose to obey or to disobey. Mankind would have a soul to live with Him forever and ever. All mankind would be a joy to Him.
I’m sure you know the story of Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The first couple lived in God’s perfect world. Every day God would have fellowship with the man and woman. It was a beautiful time together. God instructed them at the very beginning about right and wrong. They knew what their Creator expected of them, but they also had the free will to disobey any instruction.
Satan is very deceptive. He taunts and tangles temptations in front of mankind. Unfortunately Adam and Eve tangled themselves into the deception of Satan and disobeyed God. This began the long history of evil reigning in God’s perfect creation.
I bring Adam and Eve up as the prime example of a perfect parent (God) and two children who disobeyed their parent. They exercised their free will to do as they wanted knowing God told them not to. Adam and Eve were not manipulated puppets who were programmed to do only what God said. No, they thought it through and decided to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil.
Here’s where the encouragement for parents comes in. If the perfect parent, God, could have disobedient children in Adam and Eve, then we can go to Him with our frustrations, our joys, our disappointments and our everything. He understands! Let me repeat that, God understands!
I trust that this writing has brought comfort to a person in the midst of a difficult situation with his/her child, teen, young adult or full-grown adult. Keep loving and keep praying!
Gail loves the Lord most of all. She delights in her calling to be a wife to Ed Malick and a mother to seven children and grandmother of 19. Ed is the sixth generation on the homestead family farm in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.
Seeds of Hope
Jesus said, “Love your enemies!”
Solomon went a step further when he wrote: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” He put his words to work by showing the results of love.
What a predicament for those of us who want to get even and seek revenge. Resentments loom large in most of us even though we want to demonstrate the love and compassion of Christ. It is only natural to want to hurt those who hurt us and get even with those who have done us damage. While it may be natural and normal, it does not reflect the new nature of a follower of Christ: “Behold, all things are made new!”
A better translation of enemy is the one who hates you. This removes it from any vagueness and forces us to look closely at our relationships with others. While not easy to do, it will have positive results because it follows the teachings of Jesus.
Returning love for hate and kindness for coldness is not the normal way we respond to those who would do us harm. But Solomon seems to suggest that when we return good for evil, we are bringing shame on those who hate or hurt us.
Certainly this is what Paul would recommend that we who are followers of Christ must do when he wrote: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” It is God who is the one to mete out justice. Whatever we do may be too much, too little or not enough — but never right.
Today’s Prayer: We plead for grace, Lord, to show Your grace to those who hate us or would harm us. May we share Your love, as You did and in doing so witness grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Today’s Scripture: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
Proverbs 25:21-22
This article originally appeared on Farmers Advance: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances
Reporting by Gail Malick / Farmers Advance
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
