Don’t Lose Heart In The Now

DON’T LOSE HEART IN THE NOW

It was almost Christmas when our family moved from Ohio to MI to live with my parents.

It had been a long and lonely few months up until this time. My husband had been working out of state all week and I was left alone with our four small children, our youngest being only 8 months old.

We enrolled our kids in the same school my husband graduated from.
It was an exciting time.
Christmas was right around the corner and we were sure a pastorate position would be as well.

All was right with the world. We thought.

God had different plans that year.

It started with Andrea’s teacher informing us that she was extremely behind in her class.

She told us that the class already knew the entire alphabet, but that Andrea could not identify one letter. We were in shock, she had been getting such good grades at her previous school.

Her sweet teacher suggested we start out with flash cards and work with her every night. From the beginning.

I had panic moments. How could I teach her the entire alphabet when she was already so behind? There were many, many long nights. Lack of patience and crying often ensued (from mom and daughter).

It didn’t take long to figure out what was going on. I would hold up a card, Andrea would look at the card, then at me. Directly at my mouth every time. Apparently she had gotten very good at lip reading and instead of identifying what the letter was, she was waiting for me to mouth the word.

She didn’t know the truth, she was only imitating.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the next 8 months weren’t easy ones for our family.

There was a lot of praying. A lot of crying. Some fighting. A lot of trusting.

And so much learning.

During that time, Andrea wasn’t the only one learning, I was as well~

Learning to trust God was a big one. Not just with the alphabet incident, but also in the circumstances of life that surrounded us.

Next on the list would be the realization that our children watch everything that we as parents do, in every situation. How we act. How we react. We are teaching them in every moment we live and their little eyes are soaking it all up.

A parent can send their child to the best school, the best church, the best children’s programs, but ultimately as important as all these things are~

God has chosen YOU as the most important person He wants your child to learn from.

YOU have to teach them.

They might imitate the good behavior they learn at church. They might know all the right answers from the lessons they are taught~

but the truth of life’s lessons, the hard lessons, God’s lessons~you’re the one that will teach them that.

They can imitate their teachers or their church leaders, but every single day, every single moment, they are watching you and the truth you are teaching them by the life you are living.

It will be hard.
There will be times that it will be very hard.

There will be panic moments, lack of patience, fighting and even crying.

There will be a lot of praying.

Don’t give up.

Every night for 2 hours I worked with Andrea. It wasn’t easy for either of us. She finally got it. Months later when that pastorate position became available in a little town called Caseville, her teacher told us she was ahead in her class and doing very well.

Twenty Five years later Andrea teaches as a substitute at that very school.

One day, your children will have children. They will teach them the lessons they learned from you, whether they were good or bad.

I know I made many mistakes through the years, mistakes I see my own children replicating at times, but I also see the amazing ways God allowed them to see some of the good too.

It’s very humbling to watch your own adult children.

When the days and nights seem long and hard, you think that day will never come~but it will.

And then you realize it came too fast.

Don’t lose heart in the now.

Stay with it mom.

Teach them. Pray with them. Discipline them but most of all, love on them.

Then, one day watch with a heart that is full, as they do the same.

Psalm 78:2-4, 6-7