loaners

I have two kids, a daughter and a son. But they're not really mine. They don't belong to me. They are loaners. I suppose that all sounds a bit calloused until that is read in the light of truth.

My two beautiful children belong to their Heavenly Father. He picked them out specially for us and He gave them both to my husband and me as gifts. But with these two gifts came huge responsibility. 

When I view my children with the perspective that their little souls belong to God, I parent them with a completely different attitude. My ultimate goal is to raise these children as God wants me to, not according to what I feel like doing or not doing. I am held accountable not only to my husband and my two kids, but to God Himself.

That might sound a bit intimidating or overwhelming, but there is one great big perk to keeping this truth in mind. We are not doing the parenting alone. God is right there with us, helping us to hold our tongue and keep our voices from yelling. He's helping to guide our decisions in discipline and to help our kids make good choices. He reminds us to keep our selfish desires in check and He doles out extra measures of patience. 

Unfortunately, I am still human. Some evenings I look back at the entire day and think it was just a huge failure. But God's got enough grace to cover that and to help me get back at it again the next day. And even on my worst days, I think of how much harder if would be if God were not helping me and I am grateful. 

And I'm sure my kids are too!

KC