I’ve hardly had time to reflect on the fact that I’m now the mom of two teenage girls.  I can only imagine how much wisdom I will need in the coming years!

As I look back from this milestone, I’m discovering three lessons that applied during those early years of mothering that I can still apply today.

1.  “It” will come.  What is “it?”  That changes from one stage to another.  Sleeping through the night, potty training, learning to read, showering daily without having to be reminded – if a child develops normally, all of those things will happen at some point.  It may not be on my time schedule, but it will come.  My part in the process involves praying for patience, quietly encouraging my child, and cheering progress, knowing that sooner or later, it will come.  (I’m thinking our next “it” will be driving.  🙂

2.  Each child is an individual with his own personality and interests.  It’s not my job as a parent to force my child to like what I like or what I think they should like.  My girls are very different and I want to respect and appreciate those differences.  One child is very social and one, while she enjoys her friends, very much values her downtime.  I want to not only note, but also enjoy the differences and help them to develop their specific interests and talents.

3.  God answers prayer.  From their friendships to ministry opportunities to getting a good grade on a test they’ve prepared for, the greatest work I can do as their mother is to pray for them.  These days my prayers center on their personal walk with God, asking for their hearts to be open to His leading in these coming years.

What a privilege I have been given to walk with these young women through each stage of their lives!

I couldn’t let the day go by without remembering Angel.  Eighteen years ago today, I became a mother for the first time.  That precious daughter went straight to heaven, a gift from God that demonstrated to my husband and I God’s grace and goodness in a way that I believe we could only have understood through that trial.

Today I take a minute to wonder what it would be like with three teenage girls in the house???  Wouldn’t that be something!  I’m thinking we’d need another bathroom so that everyone could get out the door on time in the mornings!

How thankful I am for the lessons learned from those months of carrying our special baby.  It birthed many other blessings in our lives, and I look forward to the day we’ll see her again!

You can read all about our story of God’s goodness and grace here.

 If you’d like to receive new blog posts by e-mail, sign up here.

Source

I strive to do a lot of training on purpose…seizing teachable moments, talking with my daughters about situations they face, and encouraging them in their spiritual walk.

However, I’ve come to realize that there are three ways I am constantly training them, often without even realizing it.

1.  By what I say.  I don’t mean just what I say to them, though that is important.  It is what I say about other people, what I say when I’m angry over a situation, what I say when a person cuts me off in traffic.  It is also what I say in praising the Lord and in offering prayer and encouraging a friend in a conversation.  My girls are always listening.

2.  By what I do.  We all know the old adage, “more is caught than taught.”  Our children are much more likely to do what we do than to do what we say to do.  I find that I need to ask myself, Am I living in a way that I want them to copy?  Am I responsible and thoughtful and kind?  Do my actions match up with what I say I believe?

3.  By what I expect.  Do I expect my children to pick up after themselves or do I do it for them?  Do I expect them to treat their brothers and sisters with kindness or let them argue and call each other names?  Do I expect them to help around the house, to come to a meal without complaining about what’s on the table?  If I want them to develop a particular character trait, I need to tell them my expectation in that area and then find ways to encourage them to meet it.

We all have a heart for training our children to know, love, and serve God.  Yet I’m beginning to realize afresh that how we live in front of them plays a large part in the training process. 

It comes back to my own personal walk with Christ.  If I’m spending time in prayer and Bible reading and meditating on truth from Scripture, then I’ll have a much better chance of saying, doing, and expecting what I should.  And how thankful I am for God’s mercy, that will carry me through when I fail in this parenting journey yet again, and for His grace that can minister to my children, at times in spite of their mother!