By Jessica Roberts It’s the end of a long day of caring for sick children. No, not my own. They belong to a couple whose job often calls them away to tend to others’ needs at the sacrifice of some of their time together as a family. I am the children’s teacher, and I usually enjoy being a substitute parent, but not this week. “I’m feeling overtired, run down, and stressed,” I grumble. “I’m way behind on the dishes and laundry, and I’m missing a beach trip with my friends to instead take care of a bunch of coughing, sniffling, whiny kids. The kids are having their midday nap, and my day still stretches before me. I haven’t had enough sleep or fresh air for days now. I’m not meant do this. I’m not their mother. Mothers have the patience, the selflessness, the unconditional love for their children to put up with all this! Not me. These kids are driving me crazy!” A creak on the stairs tells me somebody’s awake. It’s two-year-old Susy. “What do you need, Susana?” She pauses for half a second, then runs to me, throws her little arms around my neck, and whispers, “I love you!” Then she turns and runs back to bed. I hear four-year-old Martin stirring, so I go to check on him. He opens one eye and mumbles sleepily, “You’re the bestest teacher ever!” Something about the way he smiles when he says that… I think about their pure-hearted love and how they’ve adopted me. I remember all the laughs, the hugs, the discoveries we’ve shared. Suddenly I’m not so tired anymore. I remember what Jesus said about loving the little people, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). We’re going to have our best day yet! I’m sure there is a way to build a three-ring circus in the sick room. And when they reach that tired, grumpy hour before dinner, I’ll just shoot up a prayer and ask for some of the Lord’s unconditional love. And I’ll thank God for the blessing of having these kids to care for. © The Family International
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By Peggy Porter
My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts only a short time. During one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of paper, a block of wood, and four tires, and told to return home and give it all to Dad. That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried. Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea of making a pinewood derby car with his young, eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed. Finally, Mom (me) stepped in to see if she could figure this all out. The project began. Having no carpentry skills, I decided it would be best if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car. A little lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes of Mom). Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids’ cars and was feeling pretty proud of his Blue Lightning—the pride that comes with knowing you did something on your own. Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and pride in his heart we headed to the big race. Once there, my little one’s pride turned to humility. Gilbert’s car was obviously the only car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son partnership, with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for speed. A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert’s lopsided, wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility, Gilbert was the only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from single-parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their side. Gilbert had only Mom. The race was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the finely sanded ramp. Finally it was between Gilbert and the sleekest, fastest-looking car there. As the last race was about to begin, my wide-eyed, shy eight-year-old asked if they could stop the race for a minute because he wanted to pray. The race stopped. Gilbert hit the ground on his knees, clutching his funny-looking block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled brow, he conversed with God. He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then he stood with a smile on his face and announced, Okay, I am ready. As the crowd cheered, a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprising speed. It rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second before Tommy’s car. Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud Thank You! as the crowd roared in approval. The Scout Master came up to Gilbert, microphone in hand, and asked the obvious question, So you prayed to win, huh, Gilbert? My young son answered, Oh, no sir. That wouldn’t be fair—to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so I don’t cry when I lose. Yes, Gilbert walked away a winner that night, with his Father at his side. “Miserable!” That was the only way to describe how I was feeling that day. My husband had had to travel—again!—and there I was alone with our four children. Finances were low, my health was bad, and my teenage daughter was going through a crisis. I prayed—oh, how I prayed!—that Jesus would make things a little easier to bear. Looking out my window at a grove of trees swaying in the gentle breeze, I noticed a little squirrel, squeaking away as he climbed up and down the trees, seemingly without a care in the world. I envied the little fellow. My squirrel chose that moment to change tactics. Instead of running up and down the trees, he started hopping from one tree to the next. He jumped over to the last tree in the cluster, and then looked at one more tree that stood apart from the others. He seemed to be deliberating. I mentally measured the distance between the squirrel and that tree, and it seemed two or three times as far as he had been jumping. Here was a massive challenge. “You can’t be serious, little fellow!” I muttered. But he wasn’t looking for my advice. He ran the length of the branch a few times, squealing frantically. Then he stopped and eyed the distance once more, crouched, and leaped. I wanted to turn my eyes away. Surely this was going to end badly! But no! He flew across that immense span and landed in the other tree with the grace and glory that come from knowing one is meant to perform such feats. He chattered in victory and scampered farther up the tree, as if to his reward. I knew then what had been missing. I had been so busy looking at my problems—measuring the distance between the trees—that I was afraid to let go and sail to the other side. I had lost my faith in my maker, my Savior, my best friend. As I watched the squirrel, now merrily chattering away in the treetop, I knew that Jesus had answered my prayer—not through a spectacular miracle, but rather the example of a happy little squirrel. The same God who took care of him was going to take care of me. Excerpted from Activated magazine. Used with permission. To children, no one in the whole world is more beautiful than their own loving mothers. Young children don’t think of their mothers in terms of fashion sense, great taste in jewelry, or perfect hair and nails. They also don’t notice stretch marks or gray hairs. Their little minds are oblivious to those things that tend to skew adults’ perceptions and expectations regarding beauty, so they’re actually better judges of what makes a woman truly beautiful. Where do children find beauty?—In the eyes that convey pride in their achievements, in the lips that encourage and instruct, in the kisses that make small hurts bearable, in the soothing voice that puts them back to sleep after a bad dream, in the wrap-around love of a soft warm hug. Where does such beauty come from?—With motherhood comes self-sacrifice, but from self-sacrifice comes humility, from humility comes grace, and from grace comes true beauty. A mother embodies life, love, and purity in the giving of herself to her children, and in these she is a reflection of God’s love for His children. This is why I believe that nothing makes a woman more beautiful than motherhood. -- Saskia Smith The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Rules the World What an important job a mother has! The mothers of the next generation are the ones who are molding the future. Motherhood is just about the greatest calling in the world. Of course, taking care of a baby may not always seem very important, but don’t ever minimize it. Who knows what an impact that child may have on the lives of many others one day. The thing that makes a mother so wonderful is her self-sacrificial spirit that is willing to sacrifice her time and strength and even her own health, if necessary, for the sake of that child. Any woman can have a baby, but it takes a real mother to learn how to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). —D.B. Berg Excerpted from Activated Magazine. Used with permission. Do you have a child or teenager who is facing physical or mental challenges? This post by Greg Lucas is sure to encourage your heart. It also gives valuable insight into how to be a better parent and maintain your sanity while facing the difficult challenge of helping a disabled child. And even if you do not have the responsibility and privilege of caring for a child with special needs, this post had beautiful insight and hard-earned perspective that you will not want to miss!
By Joan Millins It will come The other night, our five kids cozied up in our room with their quilts and sleeping bags. It’s quite something when you get five kids together and realize that they are all yours. You remember each of them as a baby, and you look at them all with such love. Seeing your children grow up is one of the most rewarding experiences in this world. But there was a time in each of their young lives when I asked myself “Will this kid ever get potty trained?” or “Am I raising a social misfit?” What I’ve learned is that eventually, if raised in the proper environment, all children will in their own time learn to use the potty, share their toys, and do all the other things we parents are in such a hurry for them to master. The time we spend teaching and loving them is never wasted. Dear Hubby… You fascinate me! Take today for example. We’ve had differing opinions about what makes for quality times with our kids, and I’ve always said that it had to involve something special like a project, a new experience, or a heart-to-heart exchange. I stand corrected! Watching you drive the tractor mower for hours today with three-year-old Shawn on your lap and in seventh heaven wasspecial—and it was a revelation to me. There was no dialogue between you most of the time, there was no elaborate project, just a father and son enjoying each other’s company. You are a wonderful father to our children. Thank you for loving them and giving them your all! The Duplo War Rules of the game: Find a target and pelt it. Target: Who else but mom? It started out rather innocently. The kids needed to clean up their Duplo mess after playtime, so we made a game of it. They had to try to toss the pieces into a bucket from across the room. Most of the pieces missed their target, of course. I playfully aimed one right for Tracy, my husband. I should have known better. The Duplo War was on, and all of the children joined in. All fire was directed at me until my three-year-old knight in shining armor took up my defense. The Duplo War lasted for all of five minutes. The floor was covered with Duplo, but the spontaneity and rush we all got from doing something that normally isn’t allowed and wouldn’t be repeated was fun and bonding. Afterwards, we all pitched in to clean up the mess, and we had the room spick and span in no time. The lesson for me was that it’s okay to sometimes temporarily suspend the rules, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand and no one gets hurt or gets their feelings hurt. I remembered that some of the fondest memories of my childhood are of crazy things my parents let me try. For example, when I was four and we were living in India, I watched people from the humblest of circumstances walk barefoot on the street, and I wanted to try it. My mom explained that the street was dirty and hot, but when I insisted that I still wanted to try it, she let me. She carried my shoes so I could experience the road “Indian-style.” Boy, did I feel cool! I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to do it again, so I savored the moment. My feet got burned--not fun—but what a memory! By Megan Dale It was 6:30 am. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom, only to be met by the sight of a rained-out world on a day our extended family had planned to go on an outing together. I didn’t mind the rain much. Heaven knew our bit of Southern California needed it. On my way back to bed I paused and looked out into our garden to see a fat little brown bird hopping around, eyeing the soggy earth in hopeful expectation of finding a meaty feast in the form of a hapless almost-drowned worm. At the moment I felt like that poor worm. The months previous had seen dark clouds slowly gathering over our little family. Our young son was facing developmental delays that affected his happiness on a daily and sometimes hourly basis in the form of frustrated, heart-wrenching tantrums. He often even awoke in the middle of the night crying out. When he was himself, he was a sweet, sensitive, affectionate, and delightful little boy. But we needed to know more about his challenges so we could better meet his growing needs, and we needed to know now, while he was still young and malleable, before the secondary and sometimes more tragic effects of low self-esteem and depression entered his tender little life as a result of his challenges. To make matters even more challenging for us, four days earlier my husband and I had received the news that his place of employment would not be available for much longer, and as a result we would have to find a new job and a new house. In the past I had always leaped with dizzy anticipation into the arms of an unknown future, hopping the globe and chasing my destiny wherever the breeze seemed to blow me. But now I cowered in the face of such a major change coming right at this crucial time in my son’s life. Four days had seemed like four years as I clung hour by hour to some straw of hope, usually in the form of a Scripture or quotation, in the midst of the deluge. So many great men and women down through the ages faced dark and trying times, and lived to write anecdotes or poems or hymns about them, and I clung to each one now. Sometimes I quoted one line over and over, like a mantra, just to keep my presence of mind as I continued to care for my children and tend to household duties. It was working, too. Standing in my doorway, looking at that little brown bird, I heard the voice of comfort I have come to know so well as my Savior’s. “You’re not the earthworm, dear, but the bird. The rains and storms that I have allowed to fall on your world have provided for you a feast that you would otherwise have to dig for.” Suddenly my perspective changed. Jesus was bringing about a spiritual feast in our lives through this seemingly dark and dreary time. Treasures we would normally have to dig for were coming to the surface, the special gifts of greater closeness to each other, greater love and appreciation for our friends and family, and a fervent desire to commit my daily needs and fears to Jesus in prayer. Has the rain stopped? Not yet. Many challenges still lie ahead of us on all fronts. But we will remain bright and happy little birds even through the rain, because odd as it may sound, we’re feasting on worms! P.S.: As if on cue, the day after my rainy day revelation, our neighbor’s eight-year-old bounded up to me and held out a handful of wiggly worms. “There’s tons more in the leaf pile if you want some,” he suggested. That’s okay. I’ll stick with the metaphor. ***** Shaken by Life’s Changes Helping our children through their growing pains changes us nearly as much as it does them. When those dearest to us go through upheavals, it affects us too. We can’t escape changes, but we can learn to make the most of them. Here’s how: § Identify the issues. Separate the aspects you have some control over from those you don’t, and commit all aspects to God, who is ultimately in control of everything. § Understand the issues. Differentiate between the practical aspects and the emotional, and deal with each accordingly. Together they may seem overwhelming, but individually they are usually manageable. § Keep an open mind. What you’ve been doing or the way you’ve been doing it may have worked reasonably well so far, but there may be better alternatives. § Enlist God’s help. Circumstances may overwhelm you, but God cannot be overwhelmed. “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.” That’s the God factor. § Stay positive. Focus on the opportunities, not the obstacles. § Find and give support. Communicate and find ways to make things work out to everyone’s advantage. § Be patient. Progress is often a three-step process—one step back and two steps forward. § Think long-term. “He [God] who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” I’m your Shepherd It takes a lot of love and unselfishness to raise a child, and it takes even more when you’re doing it as a single parent. Some days you feel like it’s too much-that you can’t be both mother and father to your child-yet you keep going. I’m proud of you for that. One day you’re going to be so happy that you didn’t give up, but kept loving and teaching your child the best you could. When your daughter grows up and looks back and remembers all the love and care you gave her, she will be so thankful and proud to have a mother like you. I also know it’s tough to be the primary source of support for your family. I want to help and take care of you. Have you heard the Psalm “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”? I don’t want you to lack anything you need. If you pray and ask Me for help, I will show you what to do to take care of the bills, and I will make sure that you and your child are provided for. Someone to lean on Children are a blessing from Me. Each of them is a special touch of My love, and they are never a mistake. I create them with love, and then entrust them to parents like you, to be loved and cared for. You’ve given so much of yourself in order to take care of your children, and you continue to give. I want you to know that I see and I appreciate every bit of that. I also want you to know that I’m always here to help you. You often don’t feel capable as a parent, but if you look to Me, I will make it easier. It’s a huge job, especially when you’re doing it on your own, but I will help you through the difficult times. I will give you all the love and patience you need. I will give you all the wisdom and understanding you need. I will be your other half, the one you can lean on. I will help you make the tough decisions. I want to be a part of your family. I want to be the head of your household. You don’t have to raise your family alone. I am here to help you. Excerpted from "From Jesus with Love - For Women" by Aurora Productions. Used with permission.
Are you just starting the journey to parenthood? Are you excited? Happy? Nervous? Content? Concerned? In need of help? Perhaps you have been a parent for some time and find yourself facing new or increased difficulties? Parenting can be one of the most thrilling, rewarding experiences of life, yet present you with some of the greatest challenges you will ever face.
Parents are by nature idealists, hoping for the best for their child. They want to do more for their child and give more than they themselves have had. Each desires to be someone their child needs, loves, admires, respects, and perhaps even wants to be like. Part of the joy of parenting comes from exploring and rediscovering life with your child. A child’s energy, excitement, enthusiasm, need, and dependency helps to move and motivate us. Too often though, the dreams of parents begin to fade under the harsh light of the cares of this life, personal and financial problems, marriage difficulties, work demands, discouragement, and the like. Especially during such times parents need to use the keys that will open the doors of hope, peace, joy, fresh inspiration, determination, patience, and especially love—a flow of love in such abundance that it transforms their lives and the lives of their children. But where and how can one find such keys? Is there really some way that we can exceed our abilities and be lifted above our shortcomings and failings? The simple answer is yes, and all you need to be is you. You don’t need to be someone special, gifted, or perfect to experience this in your life. Perfect people, even if they existed, would probably not make very good parents anyway. You see, part of the secret of parenting comes through realizing your weakness. The Bible tells us that it is through our weakness that the power of God is perfected (2 Corinthians 12:9). Some of the most powerful keys to parenting cannot be obtained from books on parenting or childcare. Practical tips, techniques, and helpful information on how to raise children are needed, but in themselves they cannot turn you into a great parent. That spark comes from a Greater Source, from our own Eternal loving Parent, and it is free for the asking. God has put Himself at our service. He wants to help us, and He wants to help our children. He wants us to raise and enjoy wonderful children, and for us to grow in love and happiness together. God wants to be in a parenting partnership with you. You may not think you are the best parent in the world, but you are the one God chose for your child, and with God’s help you can be the best parent in the whole world for him or her. With God as your parenting partner, not only will your parenting abilities improve, but He will more than make up for anything you lack. Excerpted from "Power for Parenthood" by Derek and Michelle Brooks (Aurora Productions). Used with permission. A Reflection for Parents By Jesus, speaking in prophecy Think about My beautiful gifts of love to you in the form of the children I have blessed you with. Each one is so precious to you, so dear to your heart. Their well-being, happiness and growth are so important to you. They’re also extremely important to Me, for they are also My sons and daughters. Think about My concern and care for them, and the way I manifest this to you and to them—through times of happiness, laughter, blessings, and fun; times of learning and experience and change and times that challenge their hearts and minds. Think about My promises to care for My own—and your children are My own. Think about My perfect love and understanding of all their needs and desires, both now and in the future. Meditate on My ability to care for them, no matter what their circumstances. *** In the Bible I said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6,7) I’m very concerned about every detail, and when it comes to the care of your children, I am concerned and moved to care for them. “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26) And if I and My Father know of and care for every sparrow, doesn’t it stand to reason that I would be concerned and care for you and your children?—For they are My children too. A sparrow is a tiny bird, and My children are worth more to Me than all the sparrows in the world. © The Family International. |
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