Smol tok nomo |
Smol tok nomo |
When I first felt called to ministry I vowed to myself and God that when I had kids they would be highly valued and I would not choose ministering to others over ministering to them. There are a lot of theories on being in ministry with kids. Growing up in church and with lots of family in ministry I have seen over and over the neglect and hurt of these kids and sadly, the regret and self blame of their parents. Not that these parents didn’t have the best of intentions, just some where along the way their own children were lost in the attempt to reach others. I don’t claim with a three and five year old to have the answers to all parenting woes, sometimes I am more like, “Ok, how do you get a kid to learn to wipe themselves correctly?” but I am passionate about the concept behind my own (simple as it may be ) theory. Theory: "The same God who gave me these children also called me to ministry and He is not a God of oversight. He has entrusted me with these kids and just as I have a responsibility before God to give my best to the souls He has called me to, I am equally called to give my best to the souls he has given me to raise. If anything keeps me from this it is not of God." Now, don’t get me wrong there are exceptions like Hannah, in the Bible when she was led by God to give here child to the ministry at an early age to train with someone more capable than she. God paints a very specific picture of parenthood. A great example of this is that God compares His relationship with us to that of a Father and His child, that shows a lot about what He thinks that relationship should look like. So how do you do it? Ministry is different than a 9-5 job. It is a calling, a compelling, a responsibility whose outcome lasts for eternity. If I were honest (and I usually am to a fault ) this past year I had some moments that despite my best intentions, I failed. Moments of dragging my kids and myself until we were all sick, over commiting and perhaps worse of all and the key to the whole situation, working in my own strength and abilities. If you are an accountant you go to school, you learn numbers and you use that skill daily. It is within your power and your ability to help someone file their taxes or keep pristine records. However, as a minister, no training in the world will make you capable of personally saving a soul. So how are we to be successful in ministry and parenting? Spending time with God daily and drawing from His strength is really the only place to start. You may be talented, capable, educated and strong, but if you are not drawing strength from God in a divine encounter with Him you are not capable of true ministry. So will my kids grow up perfect? Likely not, but if they should wonder too far I can draw strength from the scripture that tells me if I train them right they won’t depart from that. If you have kids and are in ministry recognize that God has entrusted you with these little souls. When we walk with God He will order our steps and if our steps are keeping us from this it is the pressures of men not the call of God. Our kids are worth it. Please don’t reach out to the worst drug addict, the poorest, the sickest, the most despised people of society, and then pat yourself on the back all while your own children are being neglected. This is not God’s plan or will. We only have them for this small season. Please continue to reach out to the least of these, but pray to see your own kids through Christ’s eyes. They are so precious in His sight and what a responsibility we have, but what a Savior we have! We can ask Him for wisdom and guidance, and when we walk with Him great things can happen for the kingdom both at work and at home - in spite of us. Remember when you feel the need to accomplish much for the kingdom, He is the one who accomplishes things. We are to submit to Him and allow Him to order our steps. Do this and God will give you the wisdom and the strength to raise your little people. When He is allowed to lead all the pieces will fit, and if you don’t feel they fit right now than maybe your biggest accomplishment will happen when you spend time with the Master. Your kids are not an oversight, His plan not only includes them but also embraces them.
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I remember a time a few years ago that I was cleaning my house for company. I had polished the furniture, scrubbed the bathrooms, swept the floor, and my husband pitched in to vacuum every room (just in case my company found themselves in our laundry room!). The next day, after their arrival I noticed a spider’s web right in the corner where my wall and ceiling meet. It bugged me after staying up so late the night before to insure a sparkly house. What happened? How did I miss it? Light exposes things easily missed in the dark. As the bright sun broke through the windows, the offensive addition to my decor became much more apparent than in the dim lit living room the night before. Light exposes, that is what it does, and as children of God we are called to walk in the light. If we are saved then at the glorious point of salvation His light came in and it shone into our hearts. It exposed every sinful “spider web” in our hearts and we could see as things really are because the light had come. Walking in the light means walking in true liberty. We can choose to hide some areas of our life and only expose the ones we see as “the image we want others to have of us” but that is not walking in the light. When we turn the light off in one of the rooms or areas within our heart we are tucking it away hiding it from the only one who can give us liberty. Walking in the light makes us vulnerable and transparent. We can spend our lives perfecting the mask of what we allow others to see or limit the places we allow Christ to go in our hearts but the problem with this is hidden things are in the dark. Unless His light is allowed to shine in every area there is no hope of true change or growth. Children of the light experience amazing freedom and liberty because they do not carry the bondage of fear of the hidden being exposed. They can go ahead and pull back the curtains and open the windows and they can embrace the light. What if someone sees a "spider’s web" in us? Thats is the beautiful thing about walking in the light, it is His grace to shine light on the areas we need to change - He wants to make all things new. Don’t fear the light but rather embrace it. Let it shine across your heart and expose every corner. Some will call you crazy and some foolish (to the ways of this world) but God will call you His own - child of the light. |
AuthorWife, Mother, Missionary, Teacher, Friend ... just a few of the many titles I gladly wear. Never dreamed this is the journey God would take me on. Archives
July 2022
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