Raising Children

Raising children is hard.

Scripture tells us children are a gift from God.  Jesus said "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14  Yet, so often it seems we do not take the responsibility of teaching and disciplining our children very seriously.
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6  I pray about this regularly.  I pray that God will guide me as we teach our little man His ways.  I thank God for the opportunity to be a parent.

In my little man's bedroom this evening, after he had fallen asleep, I just gazed at him.  My little man has taught me so much in these almost four years.  And God has used him to teach me so much about God and my relationship with my heavenly Father.  I lifted up a prayer to my heavenly Father, just thanking him for this gift. 

I think we get so overwhelmed and distracted by the difficulties of raising children in this day and age, that we lose sight of what a gift they are.  Yes, they can be difficult.  Yes, they can be challenging (some more than others).  Yes, sometimes they make us want to pull our hair out.  But in the end, let's remember that "the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" Matthew 19:14. 
I pray that I will open my eyes, ears and heart to how my son relates to his heavenly Father and that I will be able to do the same.  I pray that I will instill respect in my son.  I pray that with God's help, I will teach him to make Godly decisions.  And I pray that he will become a boy, teenager, young man, mature man after God's own heart.
In His Grace...