"Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4 amplified).
Parenting is hard work! I have never had a job where I was a full-time servant, playmate, housekeeper, teacher, tutor, counselor, financier, and chauffeur wrapped into one. Yet, despite my moments of frustration,complaining, fear and at certain points resentments (lets be real we give up a lot of ourselves in order to rear our little ones and at times there can be some ugly feelings attached to it) I don't regret being a mom.
For the last year I have been really praying and asking God to give me what i need to be a more godly mother. In this last week I have finally received the release of God's blessing in this area of my life. I have found myself yelling less and talking more, more patience and almost no frustration, accepting more and admonishing (punishing) less. I find myself actually meditating and walking God's truth as spoken through Ephesians 6:4. Below are a few bullet points of what I have learned along the way.
1) I learned to daily surrender my children to God, remembering that my kids really aren't my kids. They are just like us God's creation gifted to and through us to bring them up in God's truth and ways.
2) Each of my children have their own unique gifts, interests and personalities and I have to accept them for who God created them to be.
3) I am learning how to rely on God's strength and not my own as it relates to parenting. I am a work from home mom which means I am pretty much on duty 24/7 that takes a lot out of a person. God is the only one who has the strength to keep me moving and whole.
4) Just because my children are having a bad day doesn't mean I am NOT doing a good job or at least the best job I can in that moment. It also doesn't mean that i have to have a bad day. I have the power through Christ Jesus to shift the environment in our home.
5) In matters of discipline and/or character building I am learning to rely on what God's holy word says concerning the situation and not my own wisdom. (I have found this to be incredibly successful with my 7 year old. After reading a bible verse with her regarding a situation we are dealing with and a short conversation about it, she is a totally different person).
6) My kids want unconditional love and acceptance just like i do and the more I practice this with them the more I see them grow in this with each other.
As good as it feels to know that i am changing as a mom it hasn't come with out its challenges case in point I have been struggling with patience the last couple of days and today was especially trying because I didn't have a set plan in place, but around 4:30pm I decided to stop struggling and start praying. As always the Lord answered my prayers. He said: "Go to the grocery store and get some sugar.Bake some cookies with the kids." All my kids needed was a little sweetness in their life and as I am writing this I am realizing that that is all I really want too.
To God be the Glory! Be Blessed!
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