We are almost 7 years into our marriage and around 5 years into parenting and God has been so good in teaching us His ways and what are the things we need to prioritize in our lives. This did not come naturally nor by much teaching, we have the Holy Spirit and witnesses of cloud around us to lead us as to how to tend to these little souls God has invested into our lives.
We heard it even last conference, parenting begins with becoming animals and taking the children on ride, next it needs to grow into winning them with our love, and yes, discipline being the rod and staff that needs to comfort them. Discipline not to exert our authority as parents over them yet leading them to fear God and love Him. How often we get deviated from the calling the Lord has for each one of us by thinking that children are mere responsibilities now and investments for future or something we can boast about, very similar to a material blessing that the Lord gives us like a house, property, etc. The more we realize they are souls and they are given to us for a while by the Maker of the Universe, the more we will get serious about them. This does take time and like most parents we too began getting serious only after our second. Yet, the best would be to begin this journey with an anointing that is required to be God fearing parents.
2022 was a challenging year to us. Our first was 4 years old, second 2 and the last around 1. Oliver just started going to the physical school and then came the exposure to all sorts of viruses. He brought in cold, cough, fever and whole lot of infections almost once in two weeks. We had a season of hospitalization for Theodore and Oliver. Oliver getting infected with Thyphoid and his fever shooting to 106 degree celsious really shook our world out our feet. Each time a child fell sick, we began sleeping together in the living room, separating the sick child from the others yet at the same time being present with them to attend to their needs. The Lord started teaching us to care for these children with tenderness and love. Over a period of time, I believe for parents like us who hadn’t received light in this area, we begin to consider children as numbers….one two three….food: one two three, bath:one,two,three…! Spending quality time with each child individually and hugging and cuddling them was almost getting unknown to us as and when a child crossed a year old. Praise God for the circumstances that He allowed in our lives, we began to tend to these gifts more tenderly.
Today we are still pressing on and it’s definitely getting better. Just like a couple have ‘Dates or night outs’ to spend some romantic time together away from the responsibility of home, we as a Family have “Wednesday nights’!! We just pull down the mattresses to the living room every Wednesday and make a tent like structure using the mosquito nets and we all sleep together with a little of fun. The structure looks more or less like a cave and we enjoy diving in and out and having the priviledge to have a night together as a family. Thanks to the children’s Dad who patiently makes the structure every wednesday and remove it the following day. Children do have much fun!!
It’s a broad way for us parents when these fun times and discipline gets out of place and imbalanced. Playing and enjoying with the children yet preventing the rod from touching their will is a dangerous place to be in. A parent who really cares for the eternal good of the child will not spare the rod from the child.
It’s easy to comment on these lines, yet it’s only the Lord Who sees us through and through and when we are serious to seek Him in parenting His precious ones, He will give us the grace and love to do so.
Let’s gird up our loins, be willing to soil our hands, stay awake late night, wake up early in the morning, bend down and climb up high, become silly at times and stand firm as well, parenting is such a priviledge given to us and let us not miss out on it !!