I need to publically acknowledge a lie I have believed for a very long time. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one who’s struggled with this lie.
It has caused great anxiety, frustration, and discontentment in my life, especially over the last few years. So much time and emotion and way too many thoughts have been wasted. I’d love to go back, grab my younger self, and shove the truth in my brain.
And honestly, it’s probably a lie I’ll continue to fight against for years to come.
Ready for it?
Here’s the lie: My time spent teaching adults about the Bible is more important than the time I spend teaching my children.
Crazy, seems like a duh probably but let’s unpack this.
Or maybe I should write it differently.
Lie: There are more important things in this world than spending time raising my children.
Can I get an Amen? Anyone else struggle with this one?
We live in a culture that devalues children, at least when they’re our own. Oh, we’ll fight for everyone else’s children. We’ll fight for the child on the street, for the child that’s hungry and cold, orphaned and alone. We’ll post on facebook all the horrible stories about children being abused and neglected. We’ll call our senators and complain to our representatives that children are being mistreated and say this needs to change.
And rightly so. Please Hear Me – this is a GOOD thing and a RIGHT thing to do!!
I’m not denying or devaluing those specific actions. I just think we need to ask other question sometimes.
Are we so busy carrying for everyone else’s kids that we sometimes forget about our own?
Do we spend so much time on FB posting about what other kids are going through that we miss being a parent to our own kids?
Or maybe Facebook isn’t where we spend our time, maybe it’s work, or shopping, or hanging out with friends, or writing a book, or any one of a billion other things out there that are clamoring for our attention.
Are we so busy fulfilling our hopes and dreams, doing what we think is more important that we can’t even take the time to raise up our children? To disciple and train them?
Has anyone else believed the lie that ________ (fill in the blank) is more important than taking the time to raise my children?
If you are a parent, the most important thing you can do in life is to train your children in the Lord, to disciple them in His Word. And that takes time. A LOT of T.I.M.E.
That doesn’t mean they’ll be perfect, or you’ll do it perfectly. But that does mean persistently and consistently you will parent/teach/train/disciple/discipline your kids.
Who’s raising your kids if you aren’t?
Believe me, it’s not easy. In fact, it’s incredibly hard. And it doesn’t always feel good. Not to mention it’s usually un-appreciated, especially by our kids and by our culture.
But I believe it will be worth it.
Right now Rina and I are reading through Lies Girls Believe together (there’s a mom’s hand guide). It’s been AMAZING. I would totally recommend it, especially if you have a girl ages 8-12.
The mom’s handbook discusses this very issue. It was sadly eye-opening when I realized that for years I assumed my bigger and more important job would be after my kids were grown, and I was finally able to do what I had always wanted, teach adults! The last few years I have looked to the future, hopeful yet anxious that Jesus would return or I’d die before I finally had a chance to fulfill my dreams.
Sad isn’t it.
I’ll take hours preparing to tell you all about Jesus and the amazing God He is, but when it comes to my own children – ugh, not again. Why can’t they just leave me alone so I can study the Bible and prepare for my real work? My more important work?
Yes, my parents and my husband have encouraged my in this but apparently this book was what I needed for it to sink in.
Don’t wait till your children are gone to realize – Being a Parent To Your Own Child IS the Most Important Job You Could Ever Have.
Believer, one day you will stand before God for how you have raised your children. What will you say on that day?