Salavation in parenting

Isaiah 12:2

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

Hebrews 9:15

¹⁴ How much more then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.

¹⁵For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Observation: Again I had a lot of trouble selecting just one verse.

Again I am drawn to an entire chapter, this time Hebrews 9. It is such a fantastic explanation of why Christ is truly the ultimate sacrifice. But I feel like my simple explanations would not do the Word justice. And that I cannot pull out just one or two verses.

So please, make time if you can to read all of Hebrews 9 on your own. And ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your reading. Then you will hear much more than I could write here. You may not hear it right away, but if you keep listening, really listening, you’ll hear what God has just for you.

Now I’ll finish this devotional entry using the Isaiah verse.

Salavation: (from the freedictionary.com)

God IS my salvation. He reminds me of this so often. I should trust always and recognize that my strength comes from him.

Application: This morning I am thinking of this salvation and trust in a different way than I have before. I’ve already shared my fear issues with you. Since last night, though, I’ve been mulling something else over in my head.

Yesterday a dear friend had her first baby. Thinking about her becoming a mom has made me think about myself as a mom. She is so calm and patient.  I think she will have some challenging learning curves as any new mom will, but I also think she will be a kind, loving sweet mother.

I wonder if people thought that about me. But I am not a kind, patient, sweet mother.

So much I’ve read about motherhood says that it brings out the best in you. Thinking about that is making me think that I’m letting motherhood bring out the worst in me. And I wish I wouln’t let that happen.

I’m impatient. I get frustrated. I want my kids to conform to my schedule. I want them to get ready to get out of the house quicker. I want them to eat the food I offer without complaint. I want them to be as excited about reading as I am. I want them to want to write and to be good at forming their letters. I want them to just do the things I ask without complaint. And I don’t want to hear how they think I should do things and have to explain to them why I do all the things I do as I do them.

This week my sons asked me why I don’t play the Wii more often. I’m just not a video game person. There are plenty of things I’d rather do. So when they play I usually use that time to get other things done. But when he asked me that, I started to realize that he wants to play with me. He loves the game and wants to do something he enjoys with me. He wants to share his time and his love with me. And so I should do that.

I’ve realized this week just how selfish I am. I always thought by keeping them busy I could get all my ‘jobs’ done around the house, and a few other things. But I’m forgetting the most important job. The ‘job’ to enjoy and love my children and give them the gift of me. Yes, I do believe that they need to play by themselves and with each other. But they could also use more time with me, doing the things they want to do.

When I was much younger I remember thinking that I had the most fantastic childhood anyone could ever have and that when I became a mom I wanted my kids to have all the great fun and feel as loved as I did. I remember my mom coming up with all sorts of ideas of interesting things to do and I remember her giving me so much freedom. She was a “go with the flow” mom.

I am trying to be a “go with the flow” mom, but it is really difficult for me.

One time when I was in high school (which I know is very different than rearing a preschooler) it was really hot outside and I said to my mom that I just wanted to smear ice cream all over my body.

“Go ahead.” She said.

Ice cream is not that expensive and all I would have to do was jump in the shower when I was done, so she told me to just do it if I wanted.

I decided not to. I didn’t want to clean up all that stickiness!

I don’t know if she would have allowed that when I was younger, but she probably would have. I, on the other hand, have to really work at getting in the right frame of mind to allow such spontaneity and messiness. And often I focus so much on doing things the ‘right’ way so my kids can have all the advantages I can give them, that I miss just enjoying them. I’m letting Satan in to steal my joy. I need to press that evil right out. God has the power to do that.

Prayer: Lord, please continue to keep me from evil and calm my fears. And Lord, please be my salvation in parenting, as well. Deliver me from the evil of not enjoying the gifts you have given me in them. Please deliver me from the difficulty of frustration, and impatience. When I get irritated, remind me how you love me even when I disobey.  And help me to show your love to my children and those around me. I want to enjoy the moments you give me, Lord, but so often I look past those gifts and right to my ‘to-do’ list. Please give me discernment to align my priorities with yours. And to parent and enjoy our children as you would have me do. Thank you for being patient and loving with me. And thank you for being my strength and my song. Remind me to call on you. Thank you, Lord.