Remember hearing of those women who placed a light in their window until their husband came home? Until a loved one came home from war? There are those times in that we are lost and can't find our way home, or we are seeking our own way and in that strange path we find ourselves wanting to go back home. For me in my heart I have a candle lit in our window for our children who are not here, not just for them to find their way home, but for them to find their way home to Christ and find that He is their home, their shelter and their refuge. Life can be so hard as you are growing up, when you are not a child anymore, but you are certainly not an adult yet. In this time you are struggling to find your way, to find who you really are inside, but there are so many changes going on, so many emotions we cannot understand, and so we search for our place, and as young people they so want to do all on their own, if only they could understand we were not meant to do it on our own, but to know we can do all things through Christ. He is our leader, our guide, our compass home, and if we are making our own course, we are not on His. That light in the window is a reminder to pray for our children as they search for their way. When our children were young things seemed so easy compared to now. When they were young they listened, they were eager to learn, and they so wanted to make you proud, as they get older they grow into their own person, they want to listen to their heart, not your wisdom, and they are not so much eager to learn from you as they are their own experiences. Growing is a hard thing. For us as adults, for those who have grown in Christ we know that it is Christ we should live for, it is He that we should make proud, and we have learned through our trials, and are still growing. I have to remember my own youth, I have to remind myself it took me years to get where I am today, and I am still learning, yet I want my children to know now, not to have to make mistakes, not to struggle, not to hurt, but I as their momma can't keep them from those things, for me I must pray for them to find their place in Christ and to follow Him, to open their heart to all He has for them, but for them, they must learn on their own, they have to search for the truth just as I did. It took me a long time to realize this world cannot bring me peace, happiness or rest, I can only find those things in Christ, so how can I ask more of my children? They too must learn that God has a purpose for their lives, and that is to bring glory and honor to Him. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says,"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." It takes us awhile to figure out all there is to life, at 42 I am still not there yet, but I am striving for the goal, which is my home in heaven with Christ one day. I know without a doubt my children love the Lord, they just have to struggle with flesh and this world just as I do. Their struggles may be different, but they are struggles just the same. I have learned to turn to Christ for His wisdom and knowledge, and my prayer is that my children will also learn that value. To be a mom you keep that candle lit and you keep your prayer going for your children nonstop, for your love for them is so great. But God loves them even more than we do, so we must place them in His hands, in His care and keep our arms open wide for them as they search, as they find who they are and where they are to be. Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He forknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." The best thing we can do as parents is pray for our children, that they will find God's will for their lives, and for us to be a light in the window for them.
Friday, October 30, 2009
a light in the window
Remember hearing of those women who placed a light in their window until their husband came home? Until a loved one came home from war? There are those times in that we are lost and can't find our way home, or we are seeking our own way and in that strange path we find ourselves wanting to go back home. For me in my heart I have a candle lit in our window for our children who are not here, not just for them to find their way home, but for them to find their way home to Christ and find that He is their home, their shelter and their refuge. Life can be so hard as you are growing up, when you are not a child anymore, but you are certainly not an adult yet. In this time you are struggling to find your way, to find who you really are inside, but there are so many changes going on, so many emotions we cannot understand, and so we search for our place, and as young people they so want to do all on their own, if only they could understand we were not meant to do it on our own, but to know we can do all things through Christ. He is our leader, our guide, our compass home, and if we are making our own course, we are not on His. That light in the window is a reminder to pray for our children as they search for their way. When our children were young things seemed so easy compared to now. When they were young they listened, they were eager to learn, and they so wanted to make you proud, as they get older they grow into their own person, they want to listen to their heart, not your wisdom, and they are not so much eager to learn from you as they are their own experiences. Growing is a hard thing. For us as adults, for those who have grown in Christ we know that it is Christ we should live for, it is He that we should make proud, and we have learned through our trials, and are still growing. I have to remember my own youth, I have to remind myself it took me years to get where I am today, and I am still learning, yet I want my children to know now, not to have to make mistakes, not to struggle, not to hurt, but I as their momma can't keep them from those things, for me I must pray for them to find their place in Christ and to follow Him, to open their heart to all He has for them, but for them, they must learn on their own, they have to search for the truth just as I did. It took me a long time to realize this world cannot bring me peace, happiness or rest, I can only find those things in Christ, so how can I ask more of my children? They too must learn that God has a purpose for their lives, and that is to bring glory and honor to Him. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says,"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." It takes us awhile to figure out all there is to life, at 42 I am still not there yet, but I am striving for the goal, which is my home in heaven with Christ one day. I know without a doubt my children love the Lord, they just have to struggle with flesh and this world just as I do. Their struggles may be different, but they are struggles just the same. I have learned to turn to Christ for His wisdom and knowledge, and my prayer is that my children will also learn that value. To be a mom you keep that candle lit and you keep your prayer going for your children nonstop, for your love for them is so great. But God loves them even more than we do, so we must place them in His hands, in His care and keep our arms open wide for them as they search, as they find who they are and where they are to be. Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He forknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." The best thing we can do as parents is pray for our children, that they will find God's will for their lives, and for us to be a light in the window for them.
