"Toe" that Line

    
     A yellow line and two pairs of shoes . . . this picture causes my face to break into a big grin; it also yells loudly of the variance of personalities in our home.  As you may already know, having more than one child allows us, as parents, an inside look at how differently God designs each human being.

     If a sign said "Don't cross the yellow line" then likely I'd see five different responses, since I have five different children.  One child would put their toes right up to the line but wouldn't dream of crossing over, another would go right past that line, and then three more would land somewhere in between depending on how the wind was blowing. 

     Does this mean God made a mistake when he designed some of my children? 

     Does it mean I have parented some of them well but failed with the others? (possibly, but not my point)

     Or could it mean that each one is created uniquely with their own set of challenges we have to work on together?

     The sooner we accept that each of our children come pre-wired with their own strengths and weaknesses, the sooner we'll embrace the task of parenting each one AS THEY ARE CREATED!

     If God is able to ensure that no two snowflakes are ever the same, isn't He far more likely to pour out His immense creativity and uniqueness into our children?

     I admit it took a while for me to realize that my consistency with raising each of our children was not yielding similar results, but once I accepted that each child was personalized to their own ways, I began to enjoy it a little more.  Some of the best advice I remembering hearing in the early days came from the Ezzos when they said, "We don't lower the standards of behaviour depending on the child, but we bring each child to the standard."  That was HUGE for me!

     Once we see and understand that each child can't be compared to his or her siblings, let alone "Molly" or "Tommy" down the street, we can be set free to see each of our children exactly as God created them to be.  We'll see that although we have our work cut out with each one, it'll be in different areas of training.  Where one child finds it easy to be outgoing and polite, they may struggle with telling the truth.  Another child may feel close to death when they have to greet a stranger but never dream of being dishonest.  This doesn't make one child "better" than another -- but simply set apart for what God has planned for that specific child (and what we need to correct as we train them).

    Don't be discouraged if you have a child (or two) that's threatening to drive you around a bend -- God chose you as their parent because He KNEW you'd have what it takes to train, equip and raise this (these) child(ren) in the ways they need to go.  Don't give up or grow soft . . . now is the time to keep the standard raised and encourage them to reach out for that goal!

"Before I shaped you in the womb,

I knew all about you.  Before you saw

the light of day, I had holy plans for you."

Jeremiah 1:5



Obedience -- little or big

     Pick up the phone and give her a call . . .

     Get off the chair and go talk to that child . . .

     Go upstairs and tell your husband you're sorry . . . 

      God's gentle whisper reveals to my heart what He longs for me to do.  Just a sampling of what I may experience as directives in a given day.  Each of them on their own can seem small and insignificant, but I have learned that when God speaks with instruction to my heart, He expects me to obey!  How is that any different than what I expect from my children?     

     How can I allow myself to downplay what I view as "little" obedience when I know how greatly God values it?

     "Little" or "big", when it comes to obedience, it is a non-issue on the size. God's magnifying glass on my heart divulges my willingness, or lack thereof, to cooperate with what it is God is trying to accomplish in and around me.  Either I am IN or I am OUT . . . there are no comfortable fences to sit on in God's kingdom.

     My mind drifts to the days that my feet feel so heavy and I count the hours till bed -- I realize these are the times that I too easily excuse what I feel God wants me to do.  My head can call out for what needs to be done, but as Jesus warned, "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Matthew 26:41)."  Oh, my body is so weak some days.  

     What is the solution?  Jesus told us -- we are to "watch and pray".  There are moments when I need to CHOOSE to do what is requested, whether I FEEL like it or not.  And I acknowledge my desperate lack of ability to complete these small assignments in my own strength . . . God, come and fill me up with your Holy Spirit, fresh and new, that I may walk in obedience for the places you choose to use me in.  Thank you that You want to use each of us, to carry out Your purposes in this world.

 "Whoever can be trusted with very

little can also be trusted with much."

Luke 16:10

Standing Up Stones

In the Bible, found in the first few chapters of Joshua, we are given an account of a great leader, whose name was Joshua.  He and all his people, the Israelites, were about to cross into the Promised Land.  It is important to remember that this was something they had waited 40 years for - it was a long time coming - and in order to finally reach this promised destination, it meant crossing a river.  Not just any river but the Jordan River (a very large one), and not just that river, but the timing of their crossing placed them there during flood season.  Isn't that so often God's way?  In order for us to recognize that it is Him and not us, He does the impossible using the most difficult circumstances.

The short version of this true story, is that the Israelites crossed over on DRY GROUND - God stopped the waters and allowed an estimated 2 million people to cross (this is 40 years after crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, so most of them would have only heard those stories from their ancestors about that miracle - now God was giving them their own, first hand taste of His glory).  Then God told them to do a strange thing - He told the priests to go back in the river and pick up 12 big stones and carry them to the place where they were staying that night. 

Two things stand out to me when I read the directive God gave them: One ~ it was an unusual thing to have to do and, Two ~ it was not convenient.  But that is often true when God speaks, isn't it?  It may not be the usual request we would expect and it is often not convenient.  But they obeyed and when they reached the other side, they set up the stones as God had commanded.  They were told, as it says in Joshua 4, that these stones were a symbol of their deliverance.  In verse 6 it says the stones were, "To serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant...these stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

So, where am I going with this in how it applies to you and I?  First, if you feel God has laid something on your heart but it seems unusual, don't brush it off quickly - ask God to confirm it for you and then do what you feel He is asking of you.  Second, you need to know that it will likely not be convenient or easy to do, and if it seems beyond your natural capacity, that may be good assurance that God is very much in it.  Third, be actively watching for ways to place memorials in your life and the lives of your children.  Look for tangible objects (not statues, but reminders) that speak to God's faithfulness.  Tell your children the stories of how God has met a need, rescued you from danger, spoken to your heart - there aren't any storybooks that will stir your children's hearts deeper than your own "God stories", while creating longing for their own stories.  You don't feel like you have those yet?  Then ask the Lord to start creating opportunities to see Him move - I promise He will!