Renting our Faith

I was talking to a friend recently about a dream she had. I love to analyze my dreams, and I do believe the Lord can talk to us as we rest and our usual defenses are down. My friend's dream disturbed her because she dreamed that Jesus came back. He stood at the end of her street, bathed in a brilliant white light, and she felt the overwhelming urge to run into His arms. As she looked back at her house, she noticed her husband, who has not yet accepted Christ, standing on the driveway with arms crossed and a defiant look on his face. Heartbreakingly, her children seemed torn between who to follow - her or her husband.

As I considered this picture in the context of my own spiritual walk, I felt for her. It is a daunting and overwhelming responsibility to think of guiding our children in their walk, hoping and praying that the end result will be their own personal relationship with Jesus. Am I doing/saying all the right things? Is their Dad? Are we setting the best example for them? Are they getting mixed messages? Are we taking them to the "right" activities at church? Are we cultivating the "right" friends for them? I must admit: I don't feel up to it!! It's too hard, especially when my own faith is still a work in progress.

A new friend for whom I'm doing some writing said this to me recently: "Our children only rent our faith for a little while. At some point, they have to own it for themselves."

How true. And the great thing is, we don't have to sell God. He has every interest and desire to have a relationship with them that is totally outside of us, their parents. He is working in their lives, He is making Himself known to them, He is drawing our children to Himself with the tenderness, concern and unending love of Daddy. And He will do it all in spite of us, if He has to.

So, while we certainly have a very important role to play in their spiritual formation, what happens between them and God is between them and God. Knowing that we can trust Him with our children is the greatest comfort and relief we can have as parents!

Do you feel pressured to help your kids "find their faith?" How do you deal with it? Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Irreplaceable

I have a weird habit of reading entire books, standing up, in the bookstore. Actually, it's just a cheap habit because I'm on a mommy budget these days, although it's nearly impossible for me to leave a bookstore without something new, shiny and wordy in a bag. Anyway, I was standing up in a favorite bookstore on Mother's Day, reading this book and killing time until Mirror, Mirror started in the theater next door. 

It didn't contain anything earth-shattering - the main message was that you can still be highly successful in business without sacrificing your family and your faith. But I really liked the perspective of one CEO-type who said something along the lines of this: In the world, no matter how successful you are, no matter how important your job is, no matter how much you volunteer at church...you are replaceable. Someone can and will come up behind you and do what you're doing just as well, or even better. However, with the children you are privileged to parent...you are irreplaceable. No one else can be Dad (or Mom) to them the way you can. You cannot outsource your presence in their lives.

Comforting and daunting all at the same time, right? Daunting because it really makes you want to step up your game...No one else?  Comforting because no matter how God brought you together, how flawed you are, how many mistakes you've made, how you've failed in the past...God did bring you together. No one else. Perhaps He's made you for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

How does being "chosen" to be your children's mom play out in your life? Do you feel chosen or do you feel like anyone could do "Mom" for them?

Comments are always welcome!