Lessons from Mary and Martha: The Power of Also
[tweetthis]Things that bother us have a way of piling up, don’t they?[/tweetthis] ‘But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for...
Truth to Hang Onto in the Hard
When my mother was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer, I was thousands of miles away, living in Japan. I struggled with why God allowed such a devastating diagnosis to come three weeks after my Marine husband left for a six-month deployment. Why this? Why now? When I’m so far away?
Promises of God’s Faithfulness
We all face challenges that make us feel alone, trials that make us wonder how we will make it through the wilderness of hardship. Fear can tempt us to forget God’s love and care.
We are not alone.
“The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place’”–Deuteronomy 1:30-31.
What a clear picture of the love of God. Embedded in these words are principles of God’s love in the trials and transitions we wander through:
God goes before us—we are not alone.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#trustGod”]When we are following God, He will fight on our behalf.[/tweetthis]
When we find ourselves in the wilderness (difficulties and confusion) on our way, God will bring us through with loving care.
There are times when God carries us, just as a father carries his child.
God seeks out a place for us.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#TrustGod #Godgoesbeforeus”]God will show us the way we should go.[/tweetthis]
Grab hold of this truth and don’t let go.
But for all this.
“But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go” (Deuteronomy 1:32-33).
I am haunted by Moses’ words, “But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God…”
- On those days when I forget God’s love is real…
- On those days when I struggle with negative thinking or a fearful outlook…
- On those days when I think I am staring a giant in the face…
I forget God has been good and faithful in every hard thing.
Don’t let insecurity overwhelm you.
There are times when biblical concepts and patterns play out in our lives. The details of the situation may change, but the principle resonates through time, out of the pages of ancient writings and into the details of our challenge.
When we face difficulty we can choose to trust God and move forward, believing He loves us and will help us.
Do you need to pray?
If you face a situation where your emotions and doubts are getting the best of you, join me in this prayer:
Lord, forgive me that I have been discontent and fearful about_________. Change my perspective so that I can move forward and enter into what you have for me. I ask you to give me this place, to make it my own and to possess what you have for me here.
I speak your word to myself: do not fear. You are going before me and you will fight on my behalf. I believe you will help me through this challenge as a father carries his son.
Thank you for fighting on my behalf. I trust you to show me the way I should go. Guide my choices and decisions—may they be prompted by faith rather than fear. I will not let my emotions hold me back.
Don’t let me be rebellious and unwilling in my heart, and prevent me from trying to fight the battles on my own, working out what I think needs to be done–putting myself where I think I should be.
Lord, I want what you want.
I will go where you lead.
In Jesus’ name, amen
Are You Busy, Worried, and Bothered?
Some days I’m a Martha. I can Martha myself into a frenzy as ministry duties, family responsibilities, life management, and work pile up with lightening speed. Busy, worried, and bothered, my nerves are frazzled and my good intentions begin to feel like obligations.
Why is it that sincere purpose in serving or ministry can morph into and attitude problem? Let’s continue exploring the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10.
While Martha is seasoning the sauce and setting the table, she spies Mary who “also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.”
What does Martha do? Complain, of course!
Get irritated? Yes that too.
Manipulate to fix the problem? Umm…that too. “Lord, tell her to help me and do her part“–Luke 10:40.
Isn’t this a way we can approach issues that bother us, problems that seem to be someone else’s fault or issue? How many times have we complained and prayed for God to tell, show, make, convict, or fix someone else?
And how many times has God answered our complaint by revealing our issue or sin?
Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
Let’s just get this straight:
- It’s not good if the Lord starts calling your name twice…”_____, _____”…
- When He starts listing your issues, it is best to listen.
Some things go together–Jack and Jill, peanut butter and jelly, soap and water…worried and bothered.
Worried and bothered…
The meaning of this worry word means to be anxious, troubled with cares, caring for, providing for, and seeking to promote one’s interests. Emotions, fears, and motivations come knocking at the door of worry.
To be bothered (as if I need to explain this to you) is to be troubled, disturbed, or disquieted in mind. Though these words are similar, bothered or troubled has to do with thoughts of a busy mind that gets riled up.
Martha has a very real struggle that most of us face frequently, if not daily. There is much work to be done and so many needs to be met. Work, needs, and service can take over life and wear you out. And yet serving is needed in the family and the church, and work is a given in life.
It’s easy to think about this scenario as a matter of right or wrong, good choices or bad ones. Either you sit a Jesus’ feet like Mary or you work with the frustrated, frazzled naggyness of Martha.
Either/or.
We have a choice.
At times we may feel that nurturing our souls is a luxury of time we can’t afford—there’s simply too much to do. When this project is done, when the kids are out of diapers, when we can cross off our tasks…then we can take time to spend with Christ.
Needs, requests, and responsibilities can multiply, but Christ shows we still have a choice. The length of our to-do list doesn’t rob us of the choice to have a deep relationship with Christ. How freeing to realize that it’s okay to take time to sit still with Christ and let Him feed our souls.
Rather than adding one more task to feel guilty about not getting done…[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#maryandmartha #busywomen”]Jesus gives divine permission to stop, sit, and listen.[/tweetthis]
Do you see yourself somewhere in this story?
This is the second post in a short series on Mary and Martha. We’ll continue this series, but you can read the first post here: Four Reasons Why Serving Can Make You Resentful.
Four Reasons Why Serving Others Can Make You Resentful
I look around the kitchen and want to walk out of the room, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up. I grumble under my breath. “Thanks for leaving me a mess to clean up. Unbelievable.”
Anger rushes in. Irritation sparks a flare of temper. Slamming pots, I practically throw the dishes into the washer and scrape something sticky off the counter. I don’t even want to know…
“How could they be so selfish, so thoughtless,” my inner tirade continues. Frazzled, all I can think is people are coming over in an hour for Bible study and the house is a wreck.
Why is it so easy for serving others to stir up resentment?
Been there, done that? I think we all have. Consider this story Jesus told:
“A certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving…” Luke 10:38-40 KJV
Some days I’m a Martha. I can Martha myself into a frenzy, whipping my to-do list like a weapon. That rumpled scrap of paper, filled with both the meaningful and the mundane, feels heavy in my hand. Thinking through the commitments of the week, inward pressure builds as resentment grates against my good intentions.
Four reasons serving others can make us resentful:
Reason 1: Good intentions become expectations.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#maryandmartha #ministry”]When good intentions become expectations resentment can build.[/tweetthis]
I feel the good intentions of Martha’s heart. With the grace of hospitality, she welcomes Jesus into her home. The pressure of preparations to please and maybe impress, turn a blessing into an obligation. A gift into an expectation. Her desire to serve plays out with high expectations of both herself and others. Oh, yes I know this problem all too well. Do you?
When we feel cumbered with much serving, we often feel entitled to have others meet our expectations. After all, we’re the one sacrificing our time and effort to do the good thing of serving others. The least everyone else can do is appreciate our hard work and help out. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a woman on the planet who can’t relate to this situation.
Reason #2: Over-commitment and lack of balance in serving.
Though cumbered isn’t a word we use much anymore, we live its meaning all too easily on the days that our tasks outnumber our time and energy. Cumbered, used this one time in Scripture, means to drag around, to draw away, to distract with care, to be over-occupied, or too busy about a thing.
We can be too busy with many things and we can be too busy with one thing.
When our service begins to feed our feelings of self-worth, when serving becomes something to prove ourselves, commitment can warp into preoccupation. When this happens, the good thing of service becomes consuming.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#maryandmartha #servingothers”]Too busy with much serving–could we call this over-serving?[/tweetthis]
In this context serving is a feminine noun (interesting) relating specifically to Christian service. This word opens its arms wide, ministering to others. It works hard, called by God to proclaim and promote religion among men. Serving also includes assisting in the church, helping with charities, or preparing food.
Mary enjoys the moment, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His words. Needless to say, while the food is still cooking and the table still needs to be set, this doesn’t go over well with Martha.
“Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.” Luke 10:40 AMP
Reason 3: Our agenda and needs become the focus.
Was Martha slamming dishes with the not-so-subtle hint of “Sister, get in here and do your fair share!” Did she stomp around the kitchen in a self-righteous fury? Did she interrupt Jesus in the middle of his teaching or did she wait for a pause? When our focus narrows to how tired we are or what we’re not getting, resentment grows.
Reason 4: A critical mentality breeds resentment.
Notice how Martha has drawn a line of right and wrong with her expectations. She is right to serve and Mary is wrong for not meeting Martha’s expectations. What started out as a partnership of shared service between sisters has become divisive. Criticism creates sides of us against them.
Isn’t it easy to do the same thing? [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#maryandmartha #ministry”]Isn’t it easy to be busy about a thing and criticize those who aren’t doing as much?[/tweetthis]
The situation in these few verses is replayed again and again through out time. In our homes, in our churches, in our ministries, and in our work, we can all struggle with the problems of the heart that come with being too busy about a thing.
Which reason for resentment have you struggled with?
Joining in with these blogging communities: Coffee for Your Heart, #ThreeWordWednesday, #TellHisStory, and Thought Provoking Thursday.
Frazzled Mom, Don’t Forget to Enjoy the Journey
Whether you have a house full of small children or a van full of teenagers, your life is busy. It’s easy for busy moms to get stressed out, frazzled, or even overwhelmed by all the tasks, needs, and challenges of parenting. Be encouraged with a humorous post to remind you to take time to enjoy the journey. Do you need to put yourself in time-out for a few moments for a smile break for your soul?
Frazzled mom, don’t forget to enjoy the journey.
In today’s culture where faster is better and frantic is the new normal, it’s easy to find yourself over-committed and under-staffed. We all know that feeling of trying to do too much.
Sometimes we don’t have a choice when over-commitment comes knocking on the door.
Certain things must be done to maintain life and sanity. Not doing the necessary tasks has a cost…sooner or later. For instance, don’t take out the trash…it won’t be too long before the smell becomes unpleasant. Decide that laundry isn’t a priority and it won’t take long before no one in the house has clean socks and underwear. See how that goes…
But then there are the goals we choose to pursue.
And the things we feel obligated to do.
And the things that someone else thinks we should do.
And the jobs others didn’t do…ahem, kids…
See how quickly the busy factor can spool up and spin out of control?
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#busymom #frazzled”]The frazzled mom is the distracted mom.[/tweetthis]
I’m not pointing any fingers, just telling you what happens to me. Actually my hands are too full to be able to point my finger at anyone. If I let go of this load I’m going to drop it.
When I get frazzled, I make goofy mistakes like try to open the front door with the unlock clicker for my car.
I put Lemon-Pepper Seasoning in my purse instead of the cabinet because…I am trying to do six things at once!
I go to doctor’s appointments on the wrong day.
Time sneaks up on me and I am late to pick up my daughter from practice.
When you are overwhelmed, do you find yourself doing things like this?
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#grumpymom #busymom”]Frazzled moms become grumpy moms.[/tweetthis]
I have felt hassled with frustration of a To-Do list longer than a roll of toilet paper, and to be honest, it can make me a little crabby. Or a whole barrel full of crabby.
The kids want me to drop what I am doing to take them someplace..and I snip an answer at them. I growl my inner-GRRRrrrr…when the phone rings, when the tenth interruption comes in the same hour, when the family has the audacity to comment that the house is a wreck. Imagine that.
Take the frizzle out of your frazzle and adjust your mom-i-tude by remembering to enjoy the blessings of parenthood. Share on X
Time out for frazzled moms.
Take a time out for your soul. Remind yourself to laugh and cherish the smile factor of life with children. One of my top tips for overwhelmed moms is don’t lose your joy.
Teens or toddlers, they fill our heart with joy. Take time to laugh with your kids. Enjoy the silly, cute things they do. Tap into the humor and lightheartedness of being a kid.
When crabby comes to visit, remember the many little moments that make you smile. Taking time to enjoy those sweet moments is important. It settles our frantic and reminds us to attend to our important people and priorities rather than be driven by the blare of busyness.
Even when they become teenagers and those little cute things grow up, they make me laugh. Sorry to break it to you, but my teens no longer bedtime read stories to the dogs. Now they do funny things like sabotage family picture day:
I needed that laugh… how about you?
Taking time to enjoy the precious things that kids do breaks through the tension and reminds us to laugh. Stop to give a hug…just because. Breathe deep and reach for joy.
Remembering joy turns to our focus to gratitude in parenting.
Joy and gratitude soothe like a cool balm, calming stress. Perspective shifts and Mom-i-tude brightens. Let go of the grit of frustration scraping across your last nerve.
… Mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!–Proverbs 23:25
A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.–Proverbs 17:22
Busyness, schmiziness…don’t ever get to frazzled to enjoy the journey!
How do you adjust your Mom-i-tude?
Share this post with other mom’s that could use a little encouragement. Just click on one of the media buttons–so easy:)
Recently my How to Drive Your Teens Crazy in Four Easy Steps got picked up by For Every Mom! Woohoo! Today the post is live, so come check it out. This site features a wealth of quality articles for moms.
Praying Through the Milestones in Our Kid’s Lives
“Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
Parents walk the rocky trails of raising children in a landscape of hills and valleys. At times, the path twists and turns in unexpected directions. The uphill climb brings milestones of seeing the breathtaking vista of the wonder of God’s work in our children.
Children mature and grow, ready to take on new challenges and enter into new paths. They are ready to leave our side, no longer needing us to hold hands and direct the way.
Every new beginning comes requires end of a familiar trail. In these milestones of transition, it can be hard loosen our fingers, trusting God to guide and protect our children.
This is the need and the power of praying that God will bring our children to a certain place of confidence, trusting God as they begin new paths that lead them in new directions.
Today I want to share with you the heart and prayer of dear friend, Kris. Like me, her children are all at places of departure into new territories of life:
A Mother’s Prayer from Kristen Huggins.
[tweetthis]God weaves new beginnings from the endings in every season we walk through with our children.[/tweetthis]
Well Father, life is full of endings and new beginnings right now.
You are doing a new thing, Lord. I want to look for it, to see it as you see it. Help me to embrace it fully as I gradually let go of the old and comfortable things that are slipping away…
My first born enters her sophomore year with excitement and determination – so many dreams and possibilities lay ahead…and she leaps “ALL IN” into leadership, 18 credit hours, and a new job. I know You’ve worked in her heart in powerful ways this summer.
Oh Father – protect and guide my girl. Give her stamina and wisdom for this journey. Overcome her frustrations and fears by deepening her faith, and overwhelm her with your gracious and specific love for her.
My college freshman has finished her first week and this “new thing” that You are doing in her life and heart has just begun.
Help her to not get overwhelmed with all the constant people and changes, Father. Help her to seek You in her times of loneliness and timidity. Help her find her voice as she finds her feet, and may the rhythm of her life match the beating of your heart.
Give both my girls a sweet “haven” of godly friends to do this journey alongside them – ones who will encourage and call them up higher, as well as benefit from the love and experiences they have to offer.
This is the desire of my heart Father.
[tweetthis]Make my will and desires align with Your plan – and help me to trust You…with all of it.[/tweetthis]
My baby enters High School through the double doors of an entirely new season of adolescence. So many changes at a break-necking speed will bombard him in the days ahead. I fight hard against the voices of fear and doubt in my head that warning me of disaster on the horizon when it comes to my boy.
The battle with fear
Fear reminds me of the hard moments of wandering through a childhood with Asperger’s. I remember this little boy – the one who couldn’t communicate except by screaming. I see this one who was so often different from all the other kids and lost in his own world while our world just frustrated him.
This boy struggles to connect in meaningful ways, still shuts down in settings he can’t process, and struggles especially hard with transition.
But now he walks downstairs. This boy gives me a half smile, says “good morning Mom” and leans down to hug me while I write out the prayers of my heart…
I hear YOUR voice above all the clamor of my fears, over the daunting diagnosis. Truth declares that my son is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your voice
…tells me this boy has something to offer this world that only he can. You remind me how You have brought us further than any doctor or therapist ever predicted possible, and You have promised that You will go into that school of 2500 other students with him every day. You will never leave him or forsake him. You will show up and show off in his life, just as You have all along.
And I can breathe deeply again, as I smile and assurance from your heart floods my own Momma-bear heart because I know this one thing…
[tweetthis]YOURS is the only voice that matters.[/tweetthis]
And I know that You have answered…and I know that You hear the prayer of my heart…right now in this place…this place of endings and beginnings.
Kris Huggins
Powerful Prayers for God’s Direction for our Children
Powerful truth for our children can be found in Jacob’s encounter with God.
God can bring our children to a certain place where he reveals Himself in a real and personal way. Until God reaches into our hearts with the ladder of his love, we are all Jacobs wandering in desolate places, unsure of what the future holds.
Powerful dreams for our children come when God reveals his plans.
The glory is in the vision and promise of God and the accessibility of heaven reaching in to the heart of a wandering young man. There are moments, certain places and times, that God chooses to reveal himself, to unfold a future and a hope. God initiates this dream because He wills to do so, not because Jacob did the right thing. Not even because Jacob was seeking God.
God’s promise of his presence.
More important than visions, ladders and angels are the promises of presence that God speaks:
I am with you…
I will keep you…
I will bring you…
I will not leave you…
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
Now Jacob knows what is true, “ God has been with me and I did not know it.”
Powerful prayer for our children:
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#parentprayer”]Lord, meet our children in the journey, right in the middle of coming and going.[/tweetthis]
Meet them in the decisions and the growing, the choices and the wondering. Bring each precious soul to a certain place—a place certain and confident in your promise and presence.
[tweetthis]Powerful verses to pray for our children with free printable.[/tweetthis]
For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.—Psalm 71:5
For the Lord will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.—Proverbs 3:26
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.—Proverbs 14:26
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. –Jeremiah 17:7
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. –Jeremiah 29:11
“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted…I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You…–Job 42:2, 5
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. –Philippians 1:6
So that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”– Hebrews 13:6
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. –Hebrews 14:16
Lord, show our children through their own experiences, dreams, and questions that you are their God. Take them beyond information into the power of revelation as they discover…
You are with them.
You will keep them.
You will bring them.
You will not leave them.
Yes Lord, bring all our Jacobs to a CERTAIN place of confidence in you.
How can I pray for you or your children today?
This is the third post of a short series.
1. Powerful Truth Gives Direction to Our Children
2. God’s Powerful Dreams for Our Children Give Direction
Download the images from today’s post along with a companion printable graphic with the prayer verses when you subscribe to Ginger’s Corner. Enjoy!
I’m linking with Coffee for Your Heart, Three Word Wednesday, and #TellHisStory.
God’s Powerful Dreams for Our Children Give Direction
Lessons from the life of Jacob: Part 2
Part 1 :Lessons from Jacob’s dream hold powerful truth for our children.
When dreams become vision.
Jacob has grasped for a future that belonged to another. He has done everything in his power, right or wrong, to gain power, position, and security. Are we much different? Are our children?
In this reaching, the action is all Jacob—his striving, his manipulating, his work, his dishonesty. It is the flesh-work of a sinful man desperate to secure the blessing of both his God and his father.
Though I have not stolen the birthright of another, I have often chosen not to trust God with my future, working my own devices to gain position and security that will fulfill dreams. The methods may differ, but in some way, I share the same kinds of sin with this Jacob of days long, long ago.
And so does my son.
And so do my daughters.
And so do we all.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#parentspray”]We all need the truth of a certain place with God.[/tweetthis]
Until we have come to that certain place in which God makes himself real to us, we will all strive and strain and grasp and pretend and worry and work and manipulate to make ourselves feel OK, to find success, and to gain security.
Until God reaches into our hearts with the ladder of his love, we are all Jacobs wandering in desolate places, unsure of what the future holds.
“And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.” –Genesis 28:13-14
Rather than point the finger of judgment for sin, God reveals Himself to Jacob, “I am the LORD…” Rather than lectures of condemnation, God gives this young man a promise and a vision for his future.
God’s dreams for our wandering hearts.
So often we make this story about Jacob, but in truth it is a picture of the magnificent heart of God for his people. Not the perfect people, but the flawed, grasping, striving, wandering, wondering ones.
[tweetthis]God gives dreams for the future with what will be rather than what has gone wrong. [/tweetthis]The glory is in the vision and promise of God. The best dream of all is the accessibility of heaven reaching into the heart of a wandering young man.
Hope for the future.
There are moments, certain places and times, when God chooses to reveal himself, to unfold a future and a hope. God initiates this dream because He wills to do so, not because Jacob did the right thing.
Not because Jacob deserved it.
And not even because Jacob was seeking God.
God’s future plan for Jacob was not dependent on having a desire to honor and follow God. As a parent with my children standing on the brink of adulthood, this is a powerful concept of grace.
God gives the blessing of opportunity—the promise of land, value, position, family, and significance. What else could Jacob need? What else could he want? Every fundamental need that drives a soul to seek and strive in the flesh is provided for in God’s vision for his future.
God has a vision and plan for the future of each one of us. As we pray for our children, let’s pray that God will bring them to that certain place to discover God’s dreams for their lives.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#prayingparent”]Lord, touch our children with your dreams for their lives.[/tweetthis]
What dreams has God initiated in your life? In the life of your children?
Powerful Truth Gives Direction to our Children
Lessons from the life of Jacob.
Lessons from the life of Jacob.With mistakes fresh in his past and the stolen blessing of his father in his pocket, a young man makes his way through the wilderness. He runs from the wrath of his brother, and each step takes him farther from home. Every mile brings him closer to the unknowns of the future. He is on his way and in the midst of his journey.
A certain place.
“Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.”–Genesis 28:10-11
This young man, Jacob, comes to a certain place that has been marked on the calendar of God for a life-changing encounter.
Grasping for what belonged to a brother, does he wear the weight of guilt like a coat? This one who takes what he wants, does he wonder if he has what it takes?
Partway between yesterday and tomorrow, between past and future Jacob squints into the setting sun as the day closes. He is alone. More alone than he has ever been.
- Alone—brothers divided.
- Alone—parents left behind.
- Alone with his plotting and striving.
Under a thick black sky, he lays his head on a rock, with the grit of the trail clinging to his skin. It is another reminder that he has left the comforts and security of home far behind.
What thoughts drift through his mind as he sinks into a heavy sleep? Is he thinking of his sins and mistakes? Does he wonder what tomorrow will bring? Is he homesick, regretting his actions?
When God becomes real.
Jacob has grown up hearing the stories and promises of the God of his fathers. Again and again, the history has been retold by light of the evening fire. Yet though he knows the stories, they have not become truth to him yet. God is still impersonal, shrouded in the mist of someone else’s experience.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#parentprayers”]Our Children need the truth of a certain place with God.[/tweetthis]
I have a son, a young man who stands at the brink of adulthood, the future opening before him as he takes his college diploma in his hand. My daughters stand right behind him as they all prepare for adulthood. Maybe that is why this familiar story touches my heart with a fresh urgency.
How did this time come so quickly? Seems like only a few years ago that I held his tiny, perfect body close to my heart for the first time. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago he was tearing into the house with roller blades on his feet and braces on his teeth?
The rites of childhood and the passage of adolescence have come and gone. He stands tall and strong, with a heart full of dreams for the future. He also carries the uncertainty of knowing for sure what he wants to do, what direction he is headed.
He stands in an uncertain place.
Strategic truth gives direction.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#prayingparent”]There is a time in every child’s life that is of strategic importance in the direction they will choose. [/tweetthis]As a parent, I pray that all of our children will come to a certain place marked by God for revelation and transformation. A pivotal place for truth to become experience that molds a life with the hand of God.
Yes that certain place is a time ripe with the presence of God intervening in a life to give direction and purpose.
Are you praying for God’s certain place for someone in your life?
Sometimes God speaks too deeply to the heart to be contained in a single blog post. Here are the other posts that continue this story:
God’s Powerful Dreams for Our Children Give Direction
Powerful Prayers for God’s Direction for Our Children
Get a free download of the graphics from this post and a beautiful printable list of verses to pray for your children when you subscribe to receive my emails.
New Beginnings: Praying Through the Milestones in Our Kids’ Lives
I always feel awkward about asking folks to share my work, but if this series would encourage someone you know, please pass it along.
Today I’m linking with the community of bloggers in these lovely places: #RaRaLinkUp, Testimony Tuesday, Three Word Wednesday, #TellHisStory, and Coffee for Your Heart.
