Let Go and Let God!

PIGGY BACK RIDE
© Alicia Shields | Dreamstime.com

“Point your kids in the right direction – when they’re old, they won’t be lost.” ~Proverbs 22:6 (The Message)

This is an easy scripture to read and believe when your children are little angels, but when the world starts setting into your child, you start beating yourself up, wondering what in the world you did wrong. The number one thing you have to remember is this: it’s going to happen.

You can put your small child on your back, carry them across the desert, teach them right from wrong, tell them what God has to say about them, and show them who they are in Christ, but you can only carry them so far. There is going to come a day when they will have to walk for themselves. And they’re going to make mistakes…and fall down. It hurts our parent’s heart when they jump off our back, thinking they can make adult decisions, only to get themselves in some kind of mess.

Think of the story of the Prodigal son from the Father’s side. He went out everyday, looking for his son. You know he was praying for that boy. When the son realized what he had done and where he had gone wrong, he went home. His father saw him a far off, ran to him, hugged him and brought him inside. He never stopped loving him.

As parents, we can’t really do anything but love our children and pray for God’s help to protect them while they go on their way. When they fall, we have to remember that we have a loving Father in Heaven Who was there for us, helping us back on our feet and loving us unconditionally when we missed it. We just have to trust Him; He’ll be there for our children, too!

~Guest contributor, James Parrish

Uninspiration

Not really knowing what to blog about this morning, I decided to check out what was Freshly Pressed on WordPress to see if I could winkle out some inspiration. There was the usual stuff… blogs on decorating, exercise, techno-geeks, parenting, travel, food…none of it very inspiring (quinoa and beet pancakes?? really??). I did enjoy Janna T’s post from yesterday, as she recounted a terribly embarrassing moment and its role in her development as a writer. After all, a little bit of angst goes a long way in bringing out our inner author. But still… uninspiration abounds.

And then I realized that uninspiration (I know it’s not really a word, but I like it) is actually a good thing. Jesus used the mundane things… the truly uninspiring scraps of life… to teach valuable lessons to His disciples. The more I thought about it, the more I realized He used some of the same things that are currently “hot” (or lukewarm) today.

Jesus on decorating: “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Mat 5:15-16 NKJV

Jesus on exercise: “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” – Mat 5:41 NKJV

Jesus on techno-geeks: “Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?” – Mat 23:23 The Message

Jesus on parenting: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me”. – Mat 10:37 NKJV

Jesus on travel: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” – Mar 16:15 NKJV

Jesus on food: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” – Mat 6:25 NKJV

The Jews looked for a King and found a Carpenter.

Life is life…we have to learn to find our inspiration in every fold of it.

~Linda