Raising sinners

Yesterday was a day off from school.  I had all four of my children home, plus two neighbor kids for the day.  The kids play well together and it is always easy.  Yesterday something happened that made me do some thinking.

The kids were all in the basement watching a movie and sitting in front of the fire while I made dinner.  The neighbor boy came running upstairs, bawling, and threw himself onto the couch.  The girls came up right away to tell me what had happened.

It turns out one of my angelic children had said something extremely hurtful to this boy.  I called my child up (guess who) and made him apologize to the boy and go to his room.  I went in there and told him how ashamed I was of him.  How in this house we do not EVER talk to people like that.  The world outside of our home is cruel and unkind.  Our house needs to be a safe haven from that.  And I said "How are you going to feel when his mom comes to pick him up and asks why he's crying and then he tells her it's because of something you said??"  He said he would feel terrible.  Then I left him to think about how he can work on watching his words and being kinder.

I returned to the sobbing child on my couch and tried to comfort him.  I rubbed his back and told him that I had been made fun of when I was a child.  I told him that I knew it sucked, and that I knew how he felt.  This started to make me even angrier at my child.  I KNEW how it felt!!!  I started to think of all the times I had been made fun of and I could have cried.  It was a fresh wound again.  And my own child had ripped it open!  It is still fresh enough that I don't even want to say what I had been made fun of for.  It is still an insecurity of mine.  Grrrr.   That boy!

It also got me thinking about how disappointed our Heavenly Father is with us when we sin.  How ashamed of me He probably is, many times.  How he could be sitting in my bedroom scolding me for the words I use, my attitude, my lack of self control and all the things I may not say out loud, but I'm still thinking.   I am that little boy I just disciplined.  I am a sinner, raising sinners.  Thank God that He sent Jesus to pay that wage for me.  I deserve death.  He gave me eternal life.  My children deserve death.  He gave them eternal life.

Lord, as I raise these children help me to set an example with my own life.  I pray that I will look to you to guide my words, thoughts, attitudes and actions every minute of everyday.   Help me to raise them the way you would.  I want to please you with every bit of my parenting.  Remind me to reflect you so that I can see it in my children.  Thank you for giving me these children and these challenges.  Use me.  In your Son's precious name, Amen.

Psalm 127:3-5

³ Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents in court.