We raise our kids in a way that we believe will provide them with what they need to live a happy purposeful life.  More important, for many of us, is a life that will be pleasing to the Lord. 

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

This often takes great sacrifice, but it’s for the kids and we are willing to do it.  So, when our oldest made a life choice that was contrary to our hopes for her, we were devasted.

My husband is pretty dramatic and when things go wrong his initial response is, “We’re all gonna die!” He comes around, but this trial was particularly devastating.  

Edited from the journal . . . . November 1994

Oh Lord.  Mark says he has lost hope for the other kids. * He’s so afraid of being disappointed again.  I’m sorry for Mark, but I’m afraid for the kids. How will my kids be whole if their Dad has no hope for them?  Oh Lord, I commend each one to You.  They need to seek You for You and for themselves, not for us.  Lord, this is my burden.  Is it Yours?

And I Believe God Said:

You can trust the kids to Me.  Your concern is valid because of their ages, but they won’t always be so vulnerable.  You need to keep praying for them.  In fact, you need to pray out loud for them so there is no doubt that you believe in Me, and that you believe for them.  Don’t worry about not always feeling fervent at the time you pray.  It is important the kids know you have not lost hope. 

1 Cor 13:7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. NLT
1 Thess. 5:17. Never stop praying. NLT

Your hope is a target for the enemy because it is a strength that belongs to Me.  Hang on because that hope will burn bright again.  The younger ones are more vulnerable, so be all the more diligent not to control, but to hope and pray for them.  The verses are good, but your heart prayers are also very necessary for them to hear.  Pray for all of them.

Luke 11:5-10 ⁵ Then, teaching them more about prayer, He used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ⁶ ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ ⁷ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ ⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Lord, my prayers seem so shallow sometimes, not what I’m praying and certainly not You or the kids, but my feelings. Are my prayers still useful when I don’t feel it?

Do you love those you pray for?  Do you believe that I am the best thing for them?  Do you want good for them?     If you could plan for them, would you plan good or calamity?  If the answers are positive, then yes, your prayers are useful.  If your desire is for them, good.  If you want them to think you are great, I’ll still work for their good, but you will be humbled.  Even so, if you want Me for them, pray.  Don’t be concerned about the degree of your emotion.

I remember hearing that God doesn’t have grandchildren.  Each individual is very important, of the utmost importance. to God. * There are joys and disappointments in raising children.  We can’t help but have dreams and expectations for them.  However, we try to raise them to be independent and able to make their own decisions.  Christian parents want their kids to follow Jesus, but we have to know that it will be their choice and only theirs.  Jesus died to give us that choice.  He doesn’t force us.  So we can pray knowing that is the best we can do for them!

*Mark’s fear for our other children did not last long. It was just his intial response.

** Encouragingmoments4You: Utmost Importance March 22, 2019