My Greatest Teacher
Today my greatest teacher turns 7 years old! This daughter of mine has taught me more about sacrifice, humility, grace, and love than anyone else.
I heard someone once say that getting married "invites" us off the throne of our lives (ie. to put someone else's interests first). When children come, they "force" you off! There is nothing quite like your own child to force you to your knees in prayer, to force you to give up things in order to provide for their every need. But there is also no other way to experience the awesome, powerful love our Father God has for His children than to feel that parental love as you gaze upon your precious little ones!
Psalm 127:3 says that children are a blessing from the Lord. My children are a blessing, a reward from God. Sometimes they feel like a blessing to us. Sometimes they don't. But the blessing isn't just them and their "behavior" or good choices. Part of the blessing is the work God does IN US through what we encounter with them.
Patience... I used to think I had patience, then I had kids! I used to think I was a pretty good person, then I had kids. Parenting has a way of bringing out the good, the bad and the ugly in all of us. But God wants to move us through it, beyond it, to grow us up as we raise our kids. They are maturing before our very eyes... but we should be too! Growing in the fruit of the Spirit. Growing in godliness. Growing in contentment. Growing in grace and mercy and peace. Together we are all growing - hopefully closer to the Lord and more like Christ.
So today I say Happy Birthday to my greatest teacher...the little girl who has taught me so much about myself and about the person I long to become, constantly reminding me by her very presence that my role as Mom is one of influence, one of importance and one of great significance.
Patience... I used to think I had patience, then I had kids! I used to think I was a pretty good person, then I had kids. Parenting has a way of bringing out the good, the bad and the ugly in all of us. But God wants to move us through it, beyond it, to grow us up as we raise our kids. They are maturing before our very eyes... but we should be too! Growing in the fruit of the Spirit. Growing in godliness. Growing in contentment. Growing in grace and mercy and peace. Together we are all growing - hopefully closer to the Lord and more like Christ.
So today I say Happy Birthday to my greatest teacher...the little girl who has taught me so much about myself and about the person I long to become, constantly reminding me by her very presence that my role as Mom is one of influence, one of importance and one of great significance.
Happy Birthday to my favorite girl in the whole wide world!
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