Remember back to the very first time you held your baby? If your experience was similar to mine, you were in awe of God’s unique and beautiful creation. Your heart was full of love and your mind was filled with hopes and dreams for your little one. As new parents, we looked forward to developing a relationship with our child that would bring joy to us for years to come.
We soon discovered, as our child grew and developed, that there were many challenges in parenting. Our child was no longer a helpless infant, dependent upon us for everything, but a child who was persistent in exerting his/her independence. We began to understand the immense responsibility we have as parents, and this realization sometimes becomes overwhelming.
I believe everyone will agree that parenting is hard work. It’s a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week job. There is no downtime. As parents, we have about 18 years to prepare our child for independent living in an increasingly difficult and dangerous world. Our child’s success depends a lot on our abilities as parents. It’s not just enough to love our child, although this is critical. We must also have skills to effectively guide our child.
Parenting can be a “rocky road.” It’s a journey of faith, because we don’t know the end results. God has given us a small window of opportunity to love and teach our child how to navigate successfully in this world. We need wisdom for this journey and God says that He will provide wisdom generously, if we ask.
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5, NIV)
It’s also comforting to know that we are not alone in this journey.
God promises, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. (Psalm 32:8 NLT)
God desires to partner with us. He loves families! The family unit was God’s idea from the very beginning. He wants you to be successful!
I pray that your family will be a testimony to others about the greatness of God.