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I was talking with the kids about suffering this morning. We had been talking about the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma. Suffering is very hard for us to understand, especially when it involves children. It takes a great measure of faith to be able to look through the suffering and see a kind and loving God. Just making that comment will get harsh criticism from those who see suffering as an atrocity that should never be tolerated.
I was studying my Bible today and I was directed to the above verses. The part that caught my attention was that we live in exile. This life here on earth is our exile. We are not at home here. We have all suffered the trauma of having been alienated from our Father. We have been left wandering in a strange place where things happen that we do not understand. We don't know who we are, and we seek comfort. For some of us this leads us to anger or despair. For some of us this leads us back to our Father. Either we trust that He has ransomed us, and is preparing us for our eternal home, or we fight to make this world make sense.
As a mom, I have struggles in two directions. I don't want my children to get too comfortable here in this world that is not our home, at the same time I don't want my children to despair that this imperfect world has no comfort in it. Some of my kids have had fairly smooth sailing in their short lives, others have had to weather some storms. Some of them have enough faith to see that God is good even during the thunder claps, others shiver in fear. I hate to see them suffer. It pains me to see them struggle and hurt, but I know that they have a good Father who is working in them for their good. The good He is working is not a short term good. They may not see the fruit of it for many years to come. What I told them this morning is to remember that this life we live on this earth is very short, but it is not the whole story. We have eternal life. When we die, we will live again just like Jesus. Yes, we only live once, so how then shall we live? Shall we live in selfish grasping for all that we can get before we go? Shall we live in bitterness and anger that things seem to be so harsh? Shall we live in faith and thankfulness for the blessings that are all around us, even in the storms?
These are the hard issues of parenting. Helping your kids to look in faith for something they can't see yet. I have really been pushing writing down things they are thankful for. When there is a blessing in their life, even if it is tiny, I encourage them to write it down. When they are discouraged, I try to stop and listen. Sometimes they just need to talk it out. I pray specifically that they will have eyes of faith to see the goodness of God all around them. I have been trying to help them see that the heavenly things are not days off of school, chocolate, x-boxes, and trips to Disneyland. The heavenly things are siblings, teachers that love them, friends, hugs, people who listen to them, feeling peaceful in their homes, sunshine, thousands of little comforts that they forget about in their rush to grab the lusts of their eyes. Even though this is very abstract to children I know that they understand it more deeply than we think. My two youngest were the last ones out the door this morning. One asked if his Ethiopia mom was going to see him in heaven, the other asked if some of your family goes to heaven, do they all get to go? Those are the heavenly things that I am thankful for. They have hearts that love their family here, and there, and they long to be all together again.
I am thankful for...
daughters holding their father's hands
track meets that reveal the character of the athlete
kids recognizing their own shortcomings
families cheering each other on, and holding each other up
cookies to show love in a tangible way
sisters working out together
the scent of lilac on the spring breezes
daughters recognizing they do love their family
teenage girls hanging around outside my house, so many opportunities
children riding bikes
rainbows in dark clouds
knowing that heaven will be so much better than the best of this world
1 Peter 1:17-19
English Standard Version (ESV)
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
I was studying my Bible today and I was directed to the above verses. The part that caught my attention was that we live in exile. This life here on earth is our exile. We are not at home here. We have all suffered the trauma of having been alienated from our Father. We have been left wandering in a strange place where things happen that we do not understand. We don't know who we are, and we seek comfort. For some of us this leads us to anger or despair. For some of us this leads us back to our Father. Either we trust that He has ransomed us, and is preparing us for our eternal home, or we fight to make this world make sense.
As a mom, I have struggles in two directions. I don't want my children to get too comfortable here in this world that is not our home, at the same time I don't want my children to despair that this imperfect world has no comfort in it. Some of my kids have had fairly smooth sailing in their short lives, others have had to weather some storms. Some of them have enough faith to see that God is good even during the thunder claps, others shiver in fear. I hate to see them suffer. It pains me to see them struggle and hurt, but I know that they have a good Father who is working in them for their good. The good He is working is not a short term good. They may not see the fruit of it for many years to come. What I told them this morning is to remember that this life we live on this earth is very short, but it is not the whole story. We have eternal life. When we die, we will live again just like Jesus. Yes, we only live once, so how then shall we live? Shall we live in selfish grasping for all that we can get before we go? Shall we live in bitterness and anger that things seem to be so harsh? Shall we live in faith and thankfulness for the blessings that are all around us, even in the storms?
These are the hard issues of parenting. Helping your kids to look in faith for something they can't see yet. I have really been pushing writing down things they are thankful for. When there is a blessing in their life, even if it is tiny, I encourage them to write it down. When they are discouraged, I try to stop and listen. Sometimes they just need to talk it out. I pray specifically that they will have eyes of faith to see the goodness of God all around them. I have been trying to help them see that the heavenly things are not days off of school, chocolate, x-boxes, and trips to Disneyland. The heavenly things are siblings, teachers that love them, friends, hugs, people who listen to them, feeling peaceful in their homes, sunshine, thousands of little comforts that they forget about in their rush to grab the lusts of their eyes. Even though this is very abstract to children I know that they understand it more deeply than we think. My two youngest were the last ones out the door this morning. One asked if his Ethiopia mom was going to see him in heaven, the other asked if some of your family goes to heaven, do they all get to go? Those are the heavenly things that I am thankful for. They have hearts that love their family here, and there, and they long to be all together again.
I am thankful for...
daughters holding their father's hands
track meets that reveal the character of the athlete
kids recognizing their own shortcomings
families cheering each other on, and holding each other up
cookies to show love in a tangible way
sisters working out together
the scent of lilac on the spring breezes
daughters recognizing they do love their family
teenage girls hanging around outside my house, so many opportunities
children riding bikes
rainbows in dark clouds
knowing that heaven will be so much better than the best of this world
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