Stay the Course!

I think one of the universal flaws of human nature is the inability to stick to a commitment. It doesn’t seem to matter if you are a God follower or not. We just lack the drive to see things through to the end. Our intentions are good, but our resolve… not so much.  The doctor recently put me on a special diet for better digestive health. I looked at it and thought, “this will be a breeze since I rarely eat the things that are forbidden.” Well, a week and a half into it and I want all those things that I can’t have. Apples, broccoli, bread (believe it or not, I am NOT a bread person and now I want toast all day long!).

It isn’t just diets we struggle to stick with. How many times have we vowed to exercise, read the Bible, be consistent with our kids, get better rest, establish a healthier routine, drink more water and less (fill in the blank) and then drop the ball? Even the things that come easy often fall by the wayside. Is it because Satan doesn’t want us to succeed so he plants temptation on our path? Do we sabotage ourselves?

If you are raising kids you have likely read or heard a gazillion times that you have to stay the course and you can’t give up just because it is difficult. Kids are kind of high maintenance. They have to be fed regularly, dressed appropriately, trained properly, disciplined effectively and taught correctly. Any one of those things can overwhelm us on a given day… especially if you are one of those free-spirited people for whom routines feel like torture.

This whole subject takes me back to New Testament days when the Pharisees were all bogged down with following all the dos and don’ts and lost site of the reason why they had been given any commandments in the first place. Jesus boiled their rule following issues down to 2 things…

Make God your #1 priority

Love others… honoring them above yourself

Jesus said if you do these two things, everything else will fall into place. Pretty sure the same thing is true in parenting. When we make God our #1 priority and really focus on following Him, the things that aren’t so important fall away. We don’t get wrapped up in the things that are merely things, but keep our feet on the path that brings us closer to Him. Maybe, just maybe, the exhaustion from our hectic schedules would subside and we would better know how to order our days if Jesus was writing our agenda.

And all those tedious tasks that we do as parents? What if we knew that Jesus was standing there beside us cheering us on? He is, you know. He knows how hard it is to make sacrifices… since He IS our sacrifice. Practice loving and praying for your kids as you help with homework, clean under beds, brush hair, do laundry…  Remember that you are doing what the Lord asks, loving without reservation (and without reciprocation on many occasions). That is just what love looks like when you are a parent.

Keep up the good work! Follow and love Jesus with all your heart and you will learn to show the love that your kids need to learn as a pattern for their lives.