What Really Matters

Little man was very upset. He didn't like it that his mommy and daddy said no more tv for the rest of the day. He felt like screaming. In fact, he did start screaming. The screaming hurt mommy's and daddy's ears, so mommy carried him into his room to finish screaming. She didn't leave him in there by himself, though. She stayed in the room with him. She spoke softly to him, with words of understanding. She gave him a back rub. Little man calmed down and began enjoying the back rub. Then his mommy told him that sometimes God tells her to do something that she doesn't like. She shared with him how she tells God how she feels, and asks for His help to do the right thing. Then she asked if he wanted to hear a story. "Yes, mommy!" little man exclaimed, always ready for a story. So mommy proceeded to tell him the story of Jonah, a prophet who did not want to do what God told him to. Little man listened with rapt attention.

As mommy recounted the way that Jonah ran from God, but God knew where He was the whole time, how God showed Jonah and the people of Nineveh grace, how God wants us to simply listen to what He says, and to trust Him, even if we don't like it, she realized something important: we mommies and daddies can sometimes place too much importance on our parenting methods. But,in the end, what will really stick with our children?

If parenting is about the heart, then we need to focus the majority of our time with our children dwelling on things that will stick with them throughout their lives. And what will stick better than those stories spoken out of God's mouth, penned by the God-followers of old? Stories that will remind them of truth, of God's grace, of the fact that the doorway to heaven stands open to them because of the precious gift of Jesus.

We need to recount truth-filled stories to our children. I am reminded of God's instructions to the Israelites: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) 

God gave these instructions to them so that they would not forget Him when they were dwelling in comfort in the Promised Land. He wanted the Israelites to talk to their children about Him when they were sitting, walking, lying down, and waking up...in other words, over and over again, all day long.

Are we filling our ears and those of our children with truth, with stories and truth from God all day long? Or are we spending all of our time and energy focused on a method, worried when our children misbehave or don't fit a certain mold, fearing that they won't turn out unless we do this or that?

Let's give our children the timeless gift of God's truth during this New Year that is swiftly approaching, and throughout all the years to follow.

Merry Christmas, dear fellow mommas! Let's keep Jesus' precious gift to us the focus of our momming!

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