“But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” – Matthew 19:14
“ … and Lord, thank you for these beautiful girls that you have blessed me with. Thank you so much for making me their Mommy.”
This is how my prayers end each night when we do bedtime prayers with the girls. I often like to remind myself that these are not my children so to speak. They are His. He hand picked me to be their guardian. I am called to protect them, teach them, guide them and nurture them. It is my duty and honor to lead them to Him. What an amazing job to be given … to be given these perfect little creatures and “grow them” for Him!
My youngest is just two and a half. In a logical sense she does not know Jesus. She doesn’t know the facts, she doesn’t understand the importance of having faith. But, every night before bed, she says,
“Dear God. Thank you, mommy, daddy, dister (sister), puppy (which we don’t have) … maymen (amen)!”
She is always so eager to talk to God. She will not let a single night slip by without her time with Jesus. She proudly says her prayers and then, usually, goes to bed happily. It is so fulfilling and makes me so happy to see her develop that step of faith at such a young age.
Faith starts in small steps. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Children cling to everything that we, as parents, do or say. They are easily influenced and therefore very trusting. Lead your precious child to Him. Take advantage of that short period of time when your children are young and open. Breathe Jesus into their everyday lives. As you do, watch them grow and develop deep and lasting relationships with Him. It is an awesome experience to witness! The greatest gift you can give your child is the gift of knowing Jesus.
Do you have creative ways of breathing Jesus into your children’s everyday lives? Have small steps of faith resulted in amazing works of Jesus through your children?
By Sarah Harmony-Powell, Inspiring Excellence
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Sarah…this is beautiful, and I love that I got to read it right before I head to bed. My son was in a Christian preschool last year, and is now in a public kindergarten, and the change has been so hard on my heart…BUT the little armor that he has built up because of his experiences at preschool (and home) have made me so proud and thankful that we were able to have that year of growth in faith and Christ, and I love to see that his relationship with Jesus stays with him wherever he goes! Blessings!!
Keri, I totally know what you mean! My oldest made the same transition and after a couple weeks in kindergarten she asked me why they didn’t talk about Jesus or pray at her new school. It is hard, but we should take comfort that our teachings and guidance will help them feel secure when those times come when they go out into “the real world.” Thanks for sharing!
Oh, how I remember these days…. Mine are much older than yours now (14, 16 & 18…YIKES!).
When they were young, though, I invested in tapes (umm, today I guess it would be CDs, ha!) and we sang scriptures together; they also memorized Bible verses before they could even pronounce the words 100% right; we’d sing-song them to make it easier to memorize.
Is there anything better than hiding God’s word in their hearts?
🙂
It is a great verse to mediate espeically when we have our children of our own. It is a huge job from God to parents to make sure we are raising HIS children how he wants them to be. We are so blessed with amazing kids that God has created for us!
Wonderful post today. It is so true that the window of time we have with those impressionable little minds goes by quickly! In the midst of the diapers and spit-up it can seem like a life sentence of drudgery; but now that I am a grandmother and can look back on it, I see that it was just a little longer than the blink of an eye! Seize the opportunities to mark the little ones for Jesus while you can! This author has figured that out.
I don’t have kiddos yet but I thanks God almost daily for a Mama who tucked me in and taught me to pray just like you’re doing for your daughter. You are sowing seeds of blessings into her heart that will truly bloom and bring beauty to her for a lifetime.
Getting ready to be a first time mom…this resonates greatly in my heart:) I can’t wait to plant little seeds of faith in my son and have him grow up and be an amazing man of God just like his daddy!
I have 110 sons and daughters in Sudan and each day THEY are teaching ME about faith and the nearness of Jesus, the reality of His Kingdom in the dust of a warring nation. I have been in a lot of ministry settings over the last decade and if I could chose my ideal perfect team to come with me, the average age would probably be about 9. I am humbled Papa has trusted me with SUCH treasures! What joy!!
We pray together every night as family and oh how all heaven and earth responds. Humbled and honored by His grace because truly heaven does belong to them.
It’s the simple things, isn’t it? Makes me smile. Makes me proud of all the hard working mama’s out there who do the simple, small things each day, trusting God to take our efforts and multiply the fruit.
It isn’t what we say…it’s who we are. And it’s the faith He gives us that loves on them so much – those children of His – and what helps them grow in life. Amen!
This was so inspiring. It’s an awesome task to raise a child. It’s also very daunting to realize that we are their role models and they are like little sponges, absorbing everything they see us do and say. Congratulations on a fine piece and on doing such a spectacular job!!!
So darling! I love that she mentions ‘puppy’ – even tho you don’t have one. Showcasing the childlike faith we ought to have…whether it’s true yet or not, I can choose to thank God for the finished deck we’ll someday have, the completed trim-work, even if it’s as yet incomplete…
Beautiful!
Teri
I love that Teri! I never thought of it that way … another lesson to be learned from a child. Thanks for sharing!
Great article and so very true! Quoting you, Sarah, “They are His. He hand picked me to be their guardian. I am called to protect them, teach them, guide them and nurture them. It is my duty and honor to lead them to Him.” It was God’s intention that we have the children he gave us. During challenging times, with my own children, I have to remind myself of that! It is important to start planting seeds of God’s truth even when they don’t have the “logical” sense of who Jesus is. Their hearts have not been exposed to as much sin, therefore, in a way, they can see God’s love more clearly and simply. Love your insights, Sarah!
I know, its like the saying “He never gives us anything we can’t handle”. I feel the same way when I struggle with my kids … sometimes I am like, “am i seriously cut out for this?! ” Yes, I am. Nobody in this world could handle her better then me. We’re together for a reason. Raising kids isn’t always a picnic, but remembering that out of milions of people throughout time we were brought together with our own children for a special reason is a true comfort!
Thank you for reminding us that it is never too early (or late) to have Jesus woven into the daily fabric of our lives. Your 21/2 year old daughter will truly be able to say, “There was never a time I can remember that Jesus wasn’t present in my life.” Thank you for recognizing your awesome role in expanding God’s kingdom right at home!
My little ones are now all grown as well. And I did my best to raise them to love God. And now that they are grown, I continue to try and encourage them to live by what’s important in life, loving God and loving others.
Great post!
Bernice
Just how lucky are you?
Sarah, this is total loveliness. “Breathing Jesus into our children’s everyday lives.” ~What a picture this paints of making Him a natural part of the day!
While we pray with our children and talk about Jesus everyday, we also pray over our children as they sleep. They don’t know we’re doing it, but we know Jesus hears and is building up their faith as they dream.
Thank you for this today!
There are those times when you wonder if the good you try to instill will outweigh the mistakes you make along the way. Times when you look to the Heavens and can only say, “Jesus help me”. But the days, weeks, months and years go by and one day you look at the young woman God created and smile and think, ‘somewhere along the way, I must of done something right — and know that God heard our prayers and had His Hand on our little ones even before they entered this life ….. And say, “Thank You God”.
very nice!reading this helps me get myself ready to learn my children about God. i guess my oldest is old enough to start to understand.thanks sarah!
Sara, doesn’t the bible say, or Paul say, plant the seed and God will make it grow. I think that the closest we ever get to being godly parents, the kind of parents God intended us to be, is when we share the love of Christ with our children, which as you know are really his precious ones. You see how at peace your daughter is when she reaches out to Jesus. Let us all learn that through that child-like innocence and honesty, we too can know Jesus’s peace. It works both ways, you teach them and they teach you, but we both must have our eyes on Jesus to see. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah
Remembering you as a wide-eyed innocent child yourself makes me all the more proud and privileged to know you as a wonderful, loving mother today. May God Bless you and your three little angels as you grow together in His light.
Love, Karen
Sarah,
I, too, remember you as being a little girl, but one who was keenly intested in why your Mom and Dad were sharing and praying with a group of grown-ups every Friday night as we moved our small group from house to house. Now you’re a grown-up yourself, and your writing moves me to tears. My hope and prayer for you is that you, too, will form a small group of other couples who are Christ-followers and get together weekly to hold each other accountable in your walk with the Lord.
P.S.: Be sure to bring your beautiful girls!
Great reminder! Thanks.
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Sarah,
Beautifully written. I heard someone yesterday on the radio say that people who are childless are happier than those with children. I don’t think this is true. Perhaps they are a bit less stressed, have more freedom and money to do more things, but happier? I don’t think so! Children are a blessing, and it is wonderful to know that there are many parents out there, like yourself, who see not only their beauty and value, but know your own as their mentor and guide. You are blessed…they are blessed. Hope to see more of your writings here. Cherri
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