Hebrews Chapter 13

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8, NIV

Prayer Over Our Children

Oh God, fill my child’s heart with brotherly love and a desire to be hospitable to all. Oh Lord, place a hedge of protection around her, that she may stay faithful in marriage and free from sexual immorality. Oh Lord, may contentment rein in her heart that the love of money may never possess a foothold over her. I plead that You will remain faithful to her all the days of her life, never leaving her nor forsaking her so that she may walk in Your confidence without fear of man. ... 

Rather, bless my child with godly mentors after whom she may model her faith while You strengthen her to stand against heresy and false teachings. Make her holy by Your blood, oh God, as You guide her to do what is good, to share with others, and to confess You as Jesus Christ and Lord. May You bless her with a heart of submission to authority while You also grant her a clear conscience that she may live honorably in every way. Lord Jesus. be her Shepherd and equip her with every good thing to accomplish Your Will. I pray that You will work what is pleasing to You in her life as You mold her to be a woman of prayer and fill her heart with sacrifices of praise. 

It started with a grumble and a groan. Nothing seemed to go right – or at least the way I thought it should be done. Even the early morning waking before the sun rose by too cheerful little girl offended my waking consciousness. 
     
“She’s all yours,” I nudged my husband with a slight push and a kick, communicating non to gracefully my desire for him to be on duty.

My husband, who was more than willing to rise to the rescue due to my midnight escapades with Sweet Pea, stumbled out of bed like a trooper. 
     
“You’ve also got breakfast too,” I mumbled after him, burying my head like an ostrich beneath the sheets. As the morning progressed and I rose to semi-consciousness, my faculties made me aware of the happenings of the morning. 
     
A church morning, I usually adopted a set routine so to assist with prompt and speedy ushering out the door. Yet, as we wives are often reminded, our other half may not undertake the same decisions or paths we wives endorse. Their timing is different, their choices of breakfast foods often vary, and their thoughts of how to occupy the children may be utterly (shall we say?) unique. Grateful as I was to have the extra sleep time, I found myself biting my tongue to keep myself from raining on my husband’s parade. You’re only NOW getting to preparing breakfast?? Wanted to scream my insides. Why are you cooking THAT? Are you letting her on media already, so early in the day????

Oh, how I wanted to nag and pick, tear down, and inform of how everything he was doing was wrong. But I bit my tongue and chose instead to jump in the shower rather than engage in what I knew would dampen the entire morning. 
     
After the shower and self-scolding, I entered the breakfast scene smelling of soapy goodness, dressed to impress, and finally in full control of my sometimes caustic tongue. Just because he does it different, doesn’t mean that what he is doing is wrong or isn’t right. This reminder in the shower, aided me in loosening the grips of control and allowing my husband to navigate the ship without a back-seat co-captain. 
     
But sometimes, even when my brain recognizes the truth, my full-time mommy status still interferes and wants to run the ship. I literally need to step away and bite my tongue so to let the father of my child stretch his own parent wings to gain flight. It is sometimes a battle to let loose the reigns of control and allow the captain of my marriage to stride with purpose with his sailor legs on the shore of parenthood. I am so used to the controls I am handed during the week when he is at work that it takes mindful intentionality to relinquish the wheel. 
     
This morning, God saw fit to not only remind me of the truths of our different parenting methods but aided me in clamping shut my mouth which can threaten the peace and sanctity of our peaceful home life.  Perhaps, I may know better what works best but perhaps I do not. Regardless, I am reminded that I am partnering with a person who also needs to figure out the ropes and find his own way about it so that he can feel the same sense of accomplishment, knowledge, and pride in the journey. Regrettably, sometimes my words can tear down or make him feel I lack belief in his ability to parent. But, my job, I am realizing is not only to parent my child the best I know how, but to also encourage my husband and support him in his own journey of parenting as Dad. For Dad’s are meant to parent differently than we mothers, their roles are different yet just as valuable. The Lord has given us a help-mate who thinks differently, complements our thought process and provides the perfect balance to our own brand of craziness. 
     
As I cut up my banana and added it to the chopped spinach for my morning shake, I listened to the laughter at the breakfast table between daddy and daughter. She’s still alive, she’s eating, and she’s enjoying time with her Daddy I observed, suddenly grateful that my controlling tongue had not broken the sacred silence of the morning. We will still get to church on time, and I didn’t even have to intercede. Then it hit me. It didn’t matter whether my little girl was eating pizza for breakfast or scrambled eggs nor did it matter if her outfit even matched. What mattered was the time and the love she was sharing with her father and how present in this moment my husband was with his little girl. 
     
​Just like we are to be with Jesus, what He wants most from us is our time, our love, our attention, and presence with Him. If we are running hither to and yon but do not have the time to spend with Him or if we are managing an entire household and work force without seeking Christ during our decision making, then we are missing out and most importantly, we are missing Him. All our busyness and accomplishments in the world mean nothing if we do not have Jesus. All He wants is our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our strength. For once we begin to spend time with Him whether in the Word, through prayer, or in our moments of quiet, then we will begin to be filled up from within and overflow with the light of His joy, His power, and His strength. Friends, fellow parents, and family, I encourage all of you to make time for Jesus today. 

A Parent's Prayer

Oh Lord, shape my words to be sweet as honey to build up and encourage my family. Use me as a vehicle of peace to build harmony, unity, and order this day. Help me let go the reigns of tight control with hands open in surrender to You.