When my children were in the pre-k age group, I remember being very busy with work, family, church, and continuing my education. I have wonderful memories during this time in spite of the busy schedule. I remember the boys sitting on the counter in the kitchen when I was cooking, dressing them for church with their cute outfits and styled hair. The boys still laugh at how I combed their hair and sprayed it. I remember my husband and me passing babies for feeding and burping. I remember watching the boys as early as three or four, how they stood just like their dad. Same posture in every way. They were being guided by our words, our actions, and our behaviors.
Along with the wonderful memories of good times, I also remember rocking the boys and comforting them through chicken pox, pneumonia, and multiple ear aches and minor injuries. I remember the role of the disciplinarian, which included some spanking and time out in their bedrooms. This was my most difficult task, but I remember observing other children who had no respect for authority and seemed starved for love. I wanted my boys to know that I loved them enough to teach them to honor their father and mother. Proverbs 22:6 it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
One evening I was sitting down beside the bathtub bathing the boys. It seemed like this was the time when I was the most exhausted. I remember thinking laughingly, this is a thankless job, and these boys will be just as dirty tomorrow. Then the Lord brought to mind this verse in Matthew 25:40 where Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.” That is when it came to me what a privilege it was to care for these little ones. I thought often of Billy Graham’s mother. She had no idea she was raising a great man of God. I wanted my boys to be the great men God had planned for them to be. I wanted to be very careful to guide them to respect authority, knowing they should, above all, respect their heavenly Father and follow Him all the days of their lives.
If you are a young mother or father, I encourage you: do not grow weary in doing good as you raise godly, disciplined children that obey their parents and honor them. Ephesians 6:1-2 it explains this commandment: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise: ‘that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.’” It is our responsibility as parents to teach this concept to our children.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in Lies Woman Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free explains, “The scripture teaches that each generation is responsible to pass on to the next a heritage of godliness. This is both an awesome privilege and a weighty responsibility. The sobering fact is that we are responsible for the seeds we sow, and we must live with the harvest that results. We cannot plant seeds of halfhearted, undisciplined, worldly lives, and then hope for a ‘crop failure’ in the next generation.”
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9-10).
Dear Holy Father, thank you for helping me to be strong and courageous in this very important role as a mother. I ask you to forgive me for the times I was impatient and a terrible role model. Thank you, Lord, for a husband that loves you and his family. I praise you for my sweet godly boys and their families. Thank you for all you have done in their lives. Lord, remind the young parents that read this blog of your love. Encourage them in this wonderful role of parenting. Move them to go to your Word for guidance and wisdom.
I pray this in Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen
