Lessons about God I Learned from My Children: Part 2

 

 

It is amazing what we can learn from children. I did a post earlier on one of the lessons about God that I learned from my oldest son. Well, just the other day, one of my students also taught me about the ways of God. One of my female students spotted the school secretary in the hall. She jumped out of her desk and declared that she just had to speak to the school secretary. I informed that student that she could not speak to the secretary. For one thing, this was during class time and as a teacher, we protect that time. For another, the secretary was headed into another teacher’s room. I was not going to let my student interrupt another teacher’s class for something trivial. I had to tell her to have a seat 3 times before she finally gave up and sat down. The thing was- I was going to let her speak to the secretary anyway after she came out of the classroom next door.  Not only was I trying to prevent the loss of class time, but my main goal was to get my hard-headed student to obey. I needed to let her see that we can’t always have things the instant we want them, and I was going to share this with her. Sadly, as soon as she sat down, she instructed another student to call the secretary for her. I looked at her and shook my head. This killed my plan to bless her. This demonstrated her lack of patience and confidence in me. So, now I was really reluctant to let her speak to the secretary.

I couldn’t help but think about how we act. How we, as Christians, act just like this little girl. We ask God for something. He doesn’t give it to us instantly, and like Abraham, we become impatient and try to do things in our own power. God knows when we are ready to receive our blessing. And, he knows when our blessing is ready for us. Sometimes, he tells us to wait because it is not the right season. He is going to bless us, but we have to be patient. Sometimes, he is just testing our hearts. Sometimes, he just wants us to obey. I am guilty of being impatient. I often want what I want when I want it. Thankfully, God is helping me to learn how to wait on him because he knows what is going on behind the scenes. So, you see there is so much that we can learn from children.

 

Genesis 16 (Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar)

1 Samuel 15:22 (Obedience is better than sacrifice)

Luke 11: 13 (Our father gives good gifts)

Ecclesiasts 3 (There is a season for all things)

Isaiah 40:31 (Those that wait upon the Lord)

When Children Believe: The Way We Raise Our Children Does Count

No parent wants to see their child hurting or in pain. But, so often as parents we have to watch our children hurting and wounded. We have to help them up from falls, put balm on their injuries, stay with them throughout the long nights, and kiss their boo-boos. The most painful times are those when there is nothing we can do. Amazingly some of my most awe inspiring moments have come when my children were hurting.

My oldest son has considered himself grown for several years now (He is only 19). He likes to think that he is “hard”. So, I found it absolutely amazing that whenever he was really hurting-I mean really hurting-that he would always run to me. “Moma, moma, help!” What was even more amazing was when he was in severe pain, he would always ask for 2 things: holy oil and prayer. He shocked me the first time he said, “Moma, go get the holy oil and come pray for me. This hurts so bad. Pray.” And, every other time he was in severe pain, he wanted me to help him contact Jesus.

This let me know that he knows enough about Jesus to know that he can heal. As a child, he attended Sunday school and church regularly. He has witness me and my prayer partner and partners laboring in prayer. He knows just what Jesus can do. So, it doesn’t matter if he sings rap or wears dread locks. He knows Jesus. I did raise him in the way he should go.

My youngest son has been having knee pain all week this week. He has had to be out of school and stuck with my mother and father. These bouts of pain come and go in intervals and when they come, they are excruciating to him. He screams and cries, and I feel completely lost. Yesterday, when his leg began hurting, he did something that shocked and thrilled me. He called me over to the couch where he was lying. He said, “Moma, pray for my leg.” That’s when I knew that I had done something right. No, I am not the world’s greatest parent. I am not the most patient person. I am not the easiest person to get along with. But, my children do know that I love Jesus. They know that he can heal. They also believe in the power of prayer.

Raise up a child in the way that he should go...

Proverbs 22: 6

James 5:14-16