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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Understanding Our Children's Struggles ~ Part Two

  



I told you that the Lord had used the writing of my daughter and a quote from a book I am reading to bring home once again the need to see through my children's eyes the very heart of their struggles...to not trivialize them and brush them off because they may not seem as "important" as the cares of the adult world.  If you have not already, you can read part one of this post here.  The following is the writing of my oldest daughter.  This was not an assignment, just an impromptu writing from her heart.  As parents, we should never underestimate the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our children. 

   "I sat at the table, my dinner in front of me, my family talking around me but I wasn't listening.  I was in a world of my own thinking about the Narnia books.  Not in an ordinary, "those would be nice to read again" way, but with a desire...a longing for something...a daydream of reading the books with an innocent childish mind.  To make Narnia come alive in my imagination...to make it real in my play.  I wish to remember every detail and to keep it and incorporate it into my daily life, to devour it and to become again like a rather immature child again.
     For a few delicious moments I was lost with the magnitude of that thought.  That feeling that engulfed me.  But, like a light that filters through into a dark chamber bringing momentary pain to the eyes, so the Holy Spirit's light brought pain into my soul, telling me to remove these thoughts from my mind.  I brought selfish pain into my heart.  No, not my pleasant daydream, my mind cried out!  All of this transpired within a few seconds and then and only then did I realize what I was doing.  I was putting Narnia up as a stronghold against the discomforts of life.  I needed to face my spiritual battles instead of running.  I needed to confess, obey and accept forgiveness.  Whatever I might do, I knew with assurity that no matter how hard it would be to tear myself away from sin, it was a must.  It was a command.  So, I began to give in to the will of God.  Not that is wasn't difficult, but with the assurity of peace and blessing from God.
    I was tempted with Narnia, to think of it too highly, but I was tempted with other things before. To escape, to hide, but I cannot hide from God. Whatever I am going through spiritually if I try to run from it, it is impossible. God knows my heart, He will not be fooled with my attempts to hide from spiritual responsibility.
      I have been tempted with things like I was with Narnia, I am a slow learner. I fell before, I am imperfect, I will fall again. But I have hope, and I have strength through Him.
   So my dear friend I need to ask you, are you hiding behind something? Something that may be beneficial or good if used in a moderate way? Are you running from accountability from God? Do you need to confess, obey, and accept forgiveness? If so, don't hide. Face any sin or difficulty with GOD's help. You will find peace, joy ,and blessings like streams of water on your thirsty soul. Give yourself up to His will. You will find that it will work out for good. I didn't say it, He did. Trust HIM, HE Knows.

" And we know that all things work together for good to them that love GOD, to them that are called according to HIS purpose."
                                                                            Romans 8:28" ~written by Joy at 14

God used this to show me that my children struggle with the same issues I do...just on a different level.  But the sin is still the same.  How often have I tried to "escape" from the realities of life?  Not in a childlike fantasy, but by "vegging" out with a DVD, indulging in food when I shouldn't, or buying that item I don't really need just because it gives me a lift?  When all the while, I should have been sitting at the feet of Christ being refreshed and washed in the Word.  No, my friends, let us not underestimate the struggles of our children.  God may just be using some of them to show us areas we need to work on...if we see with eyes open to His leading. 

The next morning after reading my daughter's writing, this is the quote I read.

"Our children have more right to expect that we shall be model parents than we have to require that they shall be model children.  Their temptations are as severe for them as ours are for us.  We are apt to think their burdens light, because upon our mature minds they would press with but little weight.  And thus most erroneously we excuse ourselves for defect which we censure severely in them."  ~The Mother at Home by John S.C. Abbott

May the Lord give you grace to see with His eyes the cares of your children.  God bless!

10 comments:

Camille said...

What a lovely post Jackie! Thank you for taking the time to share such things with us. How blessed you are that your girl is turning to the LORD in such a mature way at such a young age. How precious to observe this wisdom in your child...what a blessing! May the LORD indeed grant us the enabling to do the things we ought to do for HIS glory, first and foremost...might HE be glorified in us.

Many blessings,
Camille

His bondservant said...

Thank you so much Camille for your sweet words. You are such an encourager...always love reading your comments! And yes, it is truly the Lord that enables us to do all for His glory. I shudder to think all the times I fail, but I know my Heavenly Father keeps working still!

In Him,
Jackie

Gina said...

Have you ever read any of C. S. Lewis's letters to children and their parents about Narnia? He *wanted* the books to create a longing in his readers: a longing for holiness, goodness, and their ultimate home in heaven. Such a longing is no sin. It was a longing very like that one, in fact, that brought Lewis to Christ in the first place.

"The things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal." I think this verse might apply here.

Trisha said...

Such a beautiful post, Jackie! Isn't it wonderful to see the image of Christ being formed in our children. I love God's goodness in giving us such concrete examples of the Holy Spirit's work in our children's lives. Thanks, too, for the quote from Abbott. This is one of those books I enjoy going through over and over for bits of inspiration and encouragement. Blessings to you as you continue to disciple your children for His glory!

His bondservant said...

Gina,

First of all, thank you for commenting and visiting my blog. I always love to get comments from readers. I think what Joy was trying to convey might have been a little confusing to some. We very much enjoy the writings of C.S. Lewis and have read and listened to these stories again and again. At the time, my daughter was feeling a pull to avoid what God was saying to her heart...a time of reflection and getting alone with Him and instead was tempted to go off in a "fantasy" world instead. She did not want to read the books at that time to interpret it allegorically, but rather to avoid things that were unpleasant to her at the time. That was when she felt the Lord leading her to prayer and confession rather than escaping into a make believe world. Sorry for the confusion. We are fans of C.S. Lewis, though we may not agree with him on every point theologically.

Blessings,
Jackie

His bondservant said...

Trisha,

Thank you for your sweet comments. And yes, it is encouraging to see the Holy Spirit at work in our children. It just reminds me of how much prayer I should be making on behalf of them. I have so enjoyed looking at your reading lists Trisha...it seems we own so many of the same authors and books on our shelves!

In Christ,
Jackie

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

I really enjoyed both parts of these posts, especially your daughters letter. Wow! She did an excellent job putting her thoughts down. Clearly the Holy Spirit was leading her. What an amazing girl you have there. This is one of the things God is working with me on - empathy for my children and here I come to your blog and see you've written on that very subject. The verse God has been impressing on my heart lately is Hosea 11:4 "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them".

Bless you friend!

His bondservant said...

Jackie,

Thanks for sharing that verse in Hosea, Jackie. It is just beautiful and fits perfectly with what we are talking about.

Blessings,
Jackie

The Adventures of a Simple Life said...

Jackie,
This is my first time to your blog. I have really enjoyed looking around and "getting to know you".

Post after post I was like "WOW! That was good!!!"

Thank you for your time in sharing your thoughts and life with us. I always enjoy gleaming from others wisdom in Christ!

These past 2 posts were very good. Your daughter's heart, the struggles and how she wrestles, is so opening.

As parents, I think we take our kids struggles and sometimes treat it with harshness. Foe example, the same kid disobeys AGAIN, and instead of being long-suffering, like our great God is with us, we get frustrated and wonder why they "just can't obey!"

Sin. That is why. And the Lord has not given them a heart to desire Him yet. They are lost, why would they want to obey?

We need to be in constant prayer for our children as we know the dangers and temptations of this world.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted you to know I enjoy your blog and WILL be back.

Christine

His bondservant said...

Christine,
Thank you so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment. Your insight is so true. Oftentimes we forget the longsuffering of God to us when we parent. My husband always tells me...we cannot expect goats to act like sheep. So, no, until our children are regenerate, we cannot expect them to have the heart of God on matters. Thank you again for stopping by my blog.

In Christ,

Jackie