Thank you God, for giving us children to help us grow more like you! I have found that every time I feel the nudge of the Lord to encourage me to improve in a certain area of my life, He seems to enlist my children to help. Either because they will present me with challenges (read: opportunities) to force me to confront the issues or, more likely lately, He will actually cause my older child to say things that challenge me and force me to look at my behavior.

I have been Spirit-led to work on keeping the peace in my home by learning to be slower to speak in anger, slower to become irritated or upset and much slower to become impatient when things do not go exactly as I want them to go. Although through the grace of God I have improved in these areas,I still have a ways to go. One day, I became upset about something (probably something minor in the scheme of things) and Chase looked at me very earnestly and said, "God doesn't like the upset." I could not believe what I had just heard! My first instinct was to say "Who are you to tell me what God likes and doesn't like- you are just a child!" but as I took a moment to think before I spoke, I realized that in fact it was because he is a child, my child, that God put into my life, that what he has to say does indeed matter.

I apologized to Chase and agreed with him. I also explained to him that God is helping Mommy to have less "upset" and that I would try harder to not become so upset in the future. Wow. God is amazing in how much He loves us. He loves us enough to send messengers into our lives to help us become more like Him so that we can partake of all the blessings that He has in store for us.

I have heard other stories like mine from other parents lately. One mom told of how her children used God's Word to admonish her (correctly) for her speech. Another mom told of how her child asked her a pointed question that helped her to see a truth about one of her relationships. I am convinced that God has placed our specific children (and spouses) into our lives to specifically help us mature in our Christian faith. We can choose to grow from these challenges or remain stubbornly stuck in our old, useless behaviors. Which will you choose?

"When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me; don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'"
Mark 10:14 HCSB

Today's Devotional:

Dear Lord,
Help my heart and my eyes to be open to all that you want to teach me today. Help me to recognize your truth even if it comes to me out of the mouth of babes. Encourage me to trust in your plan for my life, including the people that you have chosen to be closest to me in this life. Do not let my pride stand in the way of me becoming all that you want me to be. Make me more humble in your sight and before others. In Jesus' Name I pray.
Amen