Parenting is Difficult, but Blessed

Did you know that God did not choose the Father-Child relationship,
but CREATED it to represent the intimate connection he desires with us as his children?
The pure love we have for our kids is a constant reminder of the inescapable love our Father in Heaven has for us.

 
I don’t know about you, but nothing in this world could have truly prepared me for becoming a parent. Being a mother is hard, and caring for a very sick child is even more difficult. Often I felt inept, incapable, and beyond my means. This is not a bad thing. All in all I believe this realization was one of the greatest gifts I received as I became a mother, and I grew to understand that I could not fill this role on my own.  
 
I maybe a mother to my children, but first I am a daughter to the King of all kings. He is not a distant figure that I visit on Sunday. He is my Abba, my dad, my Father. I should trust him with a pure faith of an infant from the womb. God created the relationship between parent & child to show me the intimate relationship that He desires with me. He wants to be a part of my everyday from the menial to the unordinary. What a promise to cling to during the toughest moments and the most joyful ones.
 
Recently I was doing the laundry...glamorous right! There was a pile laying in the middle of the living room floor. Hot, fresh, and ready to be folded. My son took no hesitation diving in to the heap, grabbing a towel and my husband’s sock. With great joy he hopped up, ran into my bedroom, and stuffed the items into my sock drawer.  Watching this filled my heart until it was over flowing. Not because he accomplish anything. Not because he did it right. Not becuase he made my job any easier. But because of willingness to help and be a part of what I was doing, all with a smile!
 
Derek acted out of complete love for me and a desire to serve me with a humble heart. My not quite two year old son continues to show more wisdom in how to live this life than I do.  God knows our weaknesses, our inadequacies, our flaws, our fears…..but that is what allows Him to work through us. That is what brings us to our knees, handing over the control.  I need to approach my role, my purpose, and my situation in life with the same enthusiasm, trust, and desire to be a part of something bigger than myself just as my son did. Then God can work, righting my wrongs, healing my brokenness, drying my tears, and showing me the way.
 

God is interested in our faithfulness not our perfection.
 
The condition of our hearts is the most important thing not only to our children,
but also to our Heavenly Father.
 

In Christian Love,
Connie Parker