following

One thing I know to be true is they belong to Him, not me. I don't know if I knew that when the oldest, Jake, was born. It's probably something that sunk in during his toddler years when his own sinfulness was overshadowed by behavior he obviously learned from me. That's when the fear struck hard, fear that I was leading one who belonged to Someone Else down a wrong road.

I hit the brick wall of my own sinfulness when Jake was two. Till then, I had been excusing my own actions, blaming them on the injustice of other peoples' sins. Once I saw my own guiltiness walking around in front of me, acting just like me, my mirror image in a two year old, I asked the One who can to change me. The road was difficult, but He is able to take even the most unruly piece of clay and mold it into something useful. So after years of molding and being thrown in the kiln (a few times--due to my own stiff neck), this piece of pottery serves some purpose. Even more important, the ones He sent us are learning to serve a purpose.

Oldest is now encouraging me. I visit his blog and find hard hitting words of a young man who's learning to be a soldier for Christ. I read the words and they remind me to pray. Pray because he wants to go the way of Truth and that is a tough path in the world that surrounds him. Pray because he has an enemy who looks for any foothold. Pray that he remembers that that enemy is nothing next to the One who has called him. Pray that he runs the race without slowing or changing direction because his hope lies in One who is the way.

A year or so ago, he ran cross country at the high school. I watched when he ran and I thought how can he keep going without resting. I enjoyed running too, but I could never go the distance he went. I pray that he also goes farther in his race with Christ than this piece of clay he was born to. I pray that they all do.

Writing never came easy to Jake. He never seemed to be inclined to sit down and gather thoughts. But now the words come out and land on the screen. The words come from others who exhort him, from studying the Word that is eternal, from his inward parts that no one can see, but the One who called him.

All the children belong to Him. Husband and I cannot promise them much. We can't promise them a future or even that we will never leave them because we don't hold tomorrow. But He promises them those very things and so much more. He can deliver on the promises. They are His. They have just been put here with us to aim them in His direction. It's a gift He gives--these children. We are blessed in the process of teaching them His way.

They watch and mimic. We know they learned it from someone and sometimes that means we must surrender again so as not to mislead the ones who belong to Another. Through our surrender, we get closer to Him. That's the blessing, a closer walk with the One who we also belong to.

I know of no better way to lead them to Him than to have them follow me following Him.

Deuteronomy 31:13--"...that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD..."

Jake's site: hebrews13-6.blogspot.com