Oh, this lesson is SO hard to learn!
How often I find myself correcting, correcting, correcting over and over and well. . .
of course, when the 9 piranas are zooming in
and out taking chunks out of you all day,
I guess the natural response is to swat them and tell them to stop.
Either that or just run screaming.
Yeah.
I suppose neither option is very good.
So what then are we to do with these attachment challenged children
from hard places
that the Lord has given us to parent, to love, to bring up, to teach, to train?
We certainly can't keep correcting them all day, every day because
(as any mother of an attachment challenged child can tell you)
It mostly doesn't work
and
YOU WILL GO INSANE!
really, you will
Correction certainly has its place in parenting
just as the Lord corrects us as His children.
But, HIS desire for us isn't that we would just "act rightly."
Nope.
In fact, He knows this is impossible for us anyways.
We can't do it.
We are wicked, sinful, messed-up people
whose hearts are deceitful and who can NEVER just "be good"
- no matter how many times we try
and no matter how many times He corrects us.
Praise be to God
what He really longs for and pursues with us
is CONNECTION.
He wants a relationship with us!
He wants my heart to KNOW Him,
to long to be with Him,
to understand His ways,
and He is THERE for me to connect with
- always there,
always waiting,
always pursuing,
even when I've blown it.
Why, oh why, do I think my children need anything less than this from me?
Living this with my adopted children reminds me that I CHOOSE to walk in obedience
BECAUSE of His great love toward me
that I now believe, trust, know, understand
and now reciprocate out of my great love for Him.
Jesus said: If you love me, you will obey me.
My obedience flows from my connection with Him.
Our children's obedience will flow out of their connection with us (and Him).
Thank you, Michael and Amy Monroe for reminding me of this once again.
Do you think you can remind me again tomorrow?
3 comments:
AMEN!
I love that! Can I use it in my newsletter?..If you want to see what my newsletter is, just let me know, I will send you a copy.
raychris@emypeople.net
Chris,
use it if you think it will encourage others. I would suggest also adding the link to the lecture/training by Michael and Amy Monroe that I have linked at the end. That would be a really great resource for others!
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