I love taking care of my children. They love each other so much. As soon as Kealem sees his little sister, Emberlynn, he runs up and greets her with the biggest smile on his face. He opens the door to her room, and you hear them exchange a “Hello” to each other, followed by laughs and giggles! I love watching them grow up together.
Kaelem is a fun boy. He isn’t outgoing, but as he gets older, I see him coming out of his shell more and more. He is always happy, sweet, and kind. He’s very thoughtful and takes care of his little sister. Emberlynn loves people! She is not afraid to try new things. She will get up on the couch and try to fall off, whereas, Kaelem would cautiously figure out how to “fall” without really falling off, just to say he partook in the adventure with Em. Emberlynn loves to follow and learn things from her brother, and I often find them together. Kaelem teaching and Ember learning.
I love experiencing life with them and watching them learn things. They have so much to look forward to in life. There are so many things they can do, so many things they can be. It’s exciting, really.
With as much joy and anticipation, I watch them grow into the man and woman they will become. At the same time, I worry, as I’m sure you do, about your children, their future, and their relationship with God. I pray that they will have a relationship with Him. I know how much God has done for me, who He is, and I want to share this with my children. I want them to understand that they need Him and that God loves them very much.
Last week, as I was getting my hair done, my hairdresser and I talked about people in our lives who we knew loved the Lord at one time and chose to walk away. One young lady said she wanted to live life her way because it was fun. She didn’t want to change and had no plans to in the future. This breaks my heart. It’s a scary thing, watching people turn from God to pursue something that will destroy them.
And I can’t begin to imagine what their parents are going through. I know the fears I have alone are enough to stress me out. Can you imagine what that would be like? If you have been through this, I want you to know I am praying for you and trusting that God will bring your children back to Him alongside you.
As I was talking with my hairdresser, God began to open my eyes to these fears I had. You see, when I’m by myself, I let these fears run rampant. They can consume my thoughts, and before I know it, I am stressing about what to do or not do, what to say or not say so that I can be the best representative for Christ to my children.
God’s Wants Personal Relationships
But my relationship with God can’t be theirs. They must have unique relationships with Him because I am not them. They are their own person. My relationship with God can model and inspire; however, it isn’t the only way to have a relationship with Him. I desire that my children’s relationships with God be unique to them, but sometimes, I can find myself thinking about how I want them to see God and how they should learn about Him.
I need to remember that they will experience God differently than me, and that’s okay. That may be in listening to wise, biblical counsel. Other times, they may have to learn the hard way. What’s important is that they each have a relationship with God. I know my heart and know that my relationship with God will never diminish. I will always love Him, and He will forever be Lord over my life. My prayer is that Kaelem and Emberlynn will love Him too.
God Helps Us Navigate Through Worry
The best way for me to navigate through this is to trust that God will continue to come to them, speak to them, and lead them, and for me to be faithful in the time I have with them. The rest, I must leave with God because He is God and I am not. I can’t make them have a relationship with Him. I can’t solve all the world’s problems, and I can’t answer every question they have.
God gave each of us free will to choose Him or not. I must acknowledge that this also goes for my children. That’s one of the reasons we love God, right? Because He wants us to want Him but doesn’t force us to. I need to be thankful that He has extended this opportunity to my children, allowing their relationships between Him and them to be genuine. This is the reason I have a relationship with God. Because He gave me the freedom to choose Him. And through this waiting period, I can trust that God will teach me more about Him, help me walk with Him, and show my children what it’s like to be with God.
“So My Word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11 NASB)
God desires a relationship with my children, maybe more so than I. And He will go above and beyond to reach out to them and makes His love and grace known to them.
“But He said, ‘The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.’” (Luke 18:27 NASB)
We have a BIG God who does BIG things. He is faithful and caring. We can trust Him through this process. Knowing that our children can choose to reject or accept Christ, He has not only accepted them, but He’s pursuing them like no one has ever done before. I will continue to be faithful to Him, leaning on Him and entrusting my children’s lives to Him. It’s not about what I can do. It’s about what He can do. I can only do my best to raise them, teach them, expose them to our Father, and entrust Him with the rest.
