Oh the sacrifices we make as parents. I was reminded of this after a long evening recently. One of our sons was stuck on the interstate for 14 hours due to snow in the South. I kept my phone close to my pillow throughout the evening in the event he might text or call. Knowing it was traumatic & frustrating for him, I wanted to be there to help him through it. It reminded me that the Lord is also waiting there as an expectant Father for us to call on Him for help & peace.
Whether you are a child of a parent or a parent of a child, you can relate to this relationship. This relationship can show us a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father. I understand all parent/children relationships may not be ideal, however as we dig into scriptures we can see the love of our faithful Father and smile knowing we always have HIM. From the moment we were created in our mother's womb, our Heavenly Father loved us. Psalm 139:12-16 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Before we are born, God loves us. Right out of the gate, He knows our days. What a comfort this is! For me personally, sometimes I see heartaches and things happening around me and begin to worry about what lies ahead. God ordained our days. If we trust in Him, no matter how hurtful those days can be, we know He is our loving Father and He has a plan far greater than any we can imagine.
Just as God loves us in our birth, He continues to love us through our childish ways. When I think back of when our children were small, they would want to test the water. One story that comes to mind is when my husband kept telling one of our sons to not touch a hot stove. Our son was curious as to why he couldn't, not knowing the pain that would follow. Well, you guessed it - he touched it. Now, he knows why his father didn't want him to touch it. How many times in our lives do we ignore God's word and His warnings and touch the stove. Galatians 6:8 "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear." Philippians 3:18-19 "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." These my friend, are words warning us of the hot stove. We have a Father who is pleading with us to stay away from the burns of this world.
The next phase God gets to watch us stumble through is our youthful years. I remember picking up my daughter from elementary school. She would be absolutely devastated when she got in the car because a young girl told her she wouldn't be her friend anymore. It was difficult to show concern, because I knew in years to come this wouldn't matter to her. However, at that moment through the tears I could see her heart was broken. I imagine God looks at us with similar eyes. We face our trials seeing the heartache of today - He however can see the bigger picture and eternity. Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
Well, I have to say when you get to the end of your children's high school years you begin to breath a sigh of relief. However, don't get too comfortable because for us when our children stepped into adolescence our greatest challenges presented themselves. This was when decision making became their own. For many of you, you might be in your adolescent years like me. God must grow weary with us too. We try to make our decisions on our own, only to find ourselves in compromising situations. If we will look to our Heavenly Father, He will guide us through this life. Psalm 119:130 " The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple." Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." James 1:22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
This is where I have to stop drawing comparisons to our children, because they are in their early adolescent years. However, when I look in my spiritual mirror I'm certain my Father still shakes His head when He looks down upon His daughter. Even though I seek Him and try to glorify Him, I still stumble. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” 1 John 3:1
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