Children: Love Them, Lead Them, and Let Go

Children by Khalil Gibran

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children.'
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Children are blessings from the Lord! They rightfully belong to Him. We're blessed to be given children to love and cherish, to teach and train, to guide and encourage, to provide for and pray for, to protect and equip, to support and comfort... May we (parents) be the stable, humble, dependable bow that God uses to bend the arrows (our children) where He wants them to go! He knows what's best for them since He's the One Who created them; He also loves them more than we ever could. Therefore, our desire for our children should be that they will grow to be more and more like Christ, not like us, and that they will follow the path and purpose God has chosen just for them which may be different than what we envision.

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth." Psalm 127:3-4

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Proverbs 22:15

"The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother." Proverbs 29:15

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

"Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." Colossians 3:21

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Part of training is discipline and correction. However, it's essential that we have a loving/trusting relationship with our children. We must balance between discipline/correction and love/affection. We can't have one without the other; otherwise, our relationship with our children can become a disaster. Thankfully, when we fail or make mistakes, God's grace fills in the gaps for us, sustains us, and enables us to keep on keeping on. God's Word (the Bible) is our main parenting manual. I believe God holds us responsible for the way we train our children, but not for the way our children turn out. I've seen so many godly parents who have done their best to train their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but their children still choose to go astray and walk away from the narrow path. Each individual must make his or her own choice to follow Christ or not. Faithfully do your part as a parent and rest in God's faithfulness that He will do His part! Love them, lead them, and let go (leave them in God's wise, loving, & mighty hands)!

My Job:

• Take care of my children's needs and well-being
• Teach my children God's Word and point them to Jesus, our Best Role Model
• Work on building their character, training their attitudes, and tying heart strings
• Lead by example; walk the talk; be real and humble
• Pray for them
• Spend plenty of quality time with them
• Keep our communication line open always; be an attentive listener 

God's Job

• Transform my children's hearts
• Convict them when they've sinned
• Lead them by the Holy Spirit
• Be their Heavenly Father
• Be there for them and with them at all times