1 Timothy Chapter 5

“In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden.” I Timothy 5:25 (NIV)

Prayer for Our Children

Help instill in my child respect for her elders and those more mature in their age and experience. May she live out her faith through her care and heart of service to her family. Grant her hope in God and a spirit of unceasing prayer that cries out to You. ...

Help my child stay faithful to her future spouse and devote herself to doing good works, training up her children, showing hospitality, serving humbly, and helping those in need. Keep her from idleness, gossip, and away from Satan’s grasp. May she be above reproach with the wise management of her household. Protect her from sin and may she be kept pure. 

What do you parents tell your children about Heaven? Last night before bed, the topic of discussion (and shall I say source of worry) was this exact thing. A dear friend’s mother passed away this weekend and Sweet one ruminated over important theological questions about heaven that left her scared and uncertain. Her little preschooler mind tried to grasp and understand truths about the resurrection and life to come, but rather then leaving her comforted, it left her insecure and anxious. Try as I might to reassure her, Sweet one was inconsolable. I came away with tears in my eyes and a heart longing to spare my child from worry.
     
“Mommy,” Sweet one looked up at me with anxious, large eyes, “can I stay here in this home for heaven?”

I looked down at Little girl, hearing the anxiety in her voice. “Sweet pea,” I soothed, reaching to pull her p.j.-clad little body close, “you’ll be with Jesus, Mommy, and Daddy in heaven. You won’t be alone,” I said, addressing her source of concern from our last conversation on heaven from five months prior. Here, Sweet one had sobbed and cried, believing she would go to heaven all alone, without Mommy or Daddy until we pinpointed the source of her worry and assured her of our presence. “Sweet pea,” I smiled down at her, stroking her freshly bathed, damp hair, “Jesus is preparing a mansion in the sky for all of us – for me, you, Daddy, and all your friends and family who love Jesus.” I slid Sweet one onto my lap and interlocked my fingers behind her back
     
“But, Mommy,” Sweet one repeated, leaning into hug me, “I want to stay in this house for heaven. Can I please stay in this home when Jesus comes?” Her voice quavered, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Can you, me, and Daddy stay here?” 

For nearly 20 minutes, I tried reassuring, comforting, and soothing my sweet girl’s worries. I reminded her of scripture she knew which spoke of Jesus preparing many rooms for us, I addressed her fear of being left alone, I lauded how we never need be sick, sad, or in pain, and I listed the litany of loved ones who would forever be with us. I tried everything I could think of to figure out and speak to my little one’s source of anxiety, but to no avail. 
     
Sweet one’s body shook with barely controlled sobs. Tears rolled down her little girl cheeks with her button nose sniffling in need of a tissue. She clung to me tightly as if holding onto a lifeline, afraid that turbulent waters might claim her. Again, and again she pleaded and begged, her voice increasingly distressed. “…but Mommy, may I please stay in this home when Jesus comes for heaven?” The fear and anxiety that mounted in my little girl’s voice, broke my heart as I yearned to make her understand how heaven is a place of love, joy, and peace not a place to fear. “Please, Mommy, please!” she begged me, shaking her head vigorously, “I don’t want to leave here!” Tears now streamed in gushing rivulets down her face.

Oh Lord, I cried out in my spirit, what do I say? I cannot lie to her. Help her to understand. 
     
Yet, even as I prayed, Sweet one changed the focus of her prayer and decided to address an authority greater then myself, “Please God,” she pleaded in her quivering little girl voice through her sniffles, “will you please let me stay in this house for heaven with Mommy and Daddy?”

“Oh, Sweet pea!” my heart broke for my little girl.

“Please God,” she repeated in earnest, “please let me stay in this home.”

Friends and fellow parents, I confess right here and now, I had no idea what to say, how to relieve my little girl’s anxieties, or what to do. I held no answers – at least no answers that my little girl could understand or grasp, so I did what some of you may find controversial, but for me, it was the only way to stay truthful, theologically sound, and give the much-needed closure my little girl badly needed. 
     
“Sweet pea,” I wiped the tears running down her soft cheeks and hugged her warm little body close, “God can do anything He wants,” I soothed as I kissed her head, “He is strong enough to move mountains and is the God who created this entire universe. If He wants you to stay in this home for heaven or for you to be in this home when it’s time for heaven, then He can and will do that.”

Sweet girl stopped crying and looked up at me with large, hopeful eyes.

“God can do anything,” I stressed again, looking down at the tear stained face of my preschooler, “Anything is possible with God,” I reminded her, “Remember?

Sweet girl took a long, shuddering breath and laid her head against my chest. “Uh-huh,” came her muffled response as she buried her head in my shirt, using it as a towel to dry her wet cheeks, “Yes, Mommy, I do,” she answered wearily, voice still teary.

​Resting my cheek against the top of her head, I closed my eyes and snuggled her tight. “I love you, Sweet pea, let’s tuck you into bed now and go to sleep,” I whispered to an exhausted little girl and scooped her up in my arms. 

Perhaps, just as Sweet pea, all we need to be is reminded of God’s greatness, power, control, and absolute sovereignty; particularly in situations and circumstances beyond our understanding or control. When our minds fumble to grasp or stalls in the mue, perhaps our comfort should be derived from God’s greatness, His ability to do the impossible and that He accomplishes all that He wills rather than in our ability to understand or our own enlightenment. Our peace is not found in the knowing or even the understanding of it all, but our peace is derived from an unshakable trust in the Lord God, that He is the one who knows what is happening, that He is the one in control, that He has our best interest at heart, and that He can be trusted. Let that be enough for us. We don’t have to understand, we don’t have to know how it will all end or even the reason why. All we need to know is that God’s grace is more than sufficient, that He is in control, and that He can be trusted in all things – with our lives, our children’s lives, and all those with whom we love. 
     
Our ability to visualize what we do not know or cannot comprehend is laid bare before the Creator of this universe. It is for this very reason that we should not lean on our own understanding but instead trust in the Maker of Heaven and earth. For it is not in the grasping of concepts, ideas, theological truths, or precepts where we find life, but it is rather in the character and the person of Christ, His strength, His promises to never leave us nor forsake us, His power, and His redeeming blood that we find sustaining rest and peace. 
     
I would like to say that I hold all the answers for my little girl, but the truth is, that I do not. As parents, we do the best we can to guide, shape, direct, instruct, and provide answers for our little ones. But I am finding that to be a parent also means that we are not the source of all knowledge and that many times, we just don’t possess the answers. It is humbling at best while eye opening at the least as it shakes our infallibility, our weakness, and need for growth, alarmingly to the surface. Yet, these unanswerable moments can serve as the best learning tools for our children, teaching them the value of humility and the need to study, examine, think independently, and to make application. 
     
​Through our humble inability to give answers, we provide the powerful model of learner and student. It teaches us to always be soaking in the dawning grace of knowledge, the eagerness to embrace or examine new things, and the joy of always looking to gain in understanding. When we stop learning, we stop growing and we run the risk of becoming stagnant in our lives or stagnant in our faith. So, let us place ourselves back into the seat from which we so often attempt to elevate ourselves and instead, let us hand the reigns over to the Giver of all knowledge, Creator of the universe, and Lord of our lives. 

A Parent's Prayer

Oh Lord, help me to know You better. Open the eyes of my heart so that I may see You and understand Your ways. Bless me with Your wisdom, understanding, and insight so that I might grow in faith and trust in You.