“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1: 27
As I peeked in the baby’s room for a third glance in the span of two hours, I was washed away by a monsoon of tears and emotions. I exhaled, reflected, prayed, and just blankly looked at the white walls ready to be painted. At the end of the year, we will be welcoming another precious boy into our lives. Everything will be new to him just like the walls in his room. What a joyous feeling. Another boy who we have the privilege of calling son will be welcomed with warm hugs, tears, and lots of kisses. A new story will unfold. God’s grace and love to be shown. Such a wonderful gift and one I accept with hands open.
Although I accept with hands open, parenting can also be hard on most days. You know those kinda’ days, where we want to hold our hands closed - fall onto our bed with a tired heart - and have no room to even ask for new mercies because we are out of steam. We have to, with faith and God’s strength, walk through life with our young ones all the while remembering to pour into our own so we can become better ambassadors for our children. It is an honor but can be overwhelmingly tiring. It is a role not to take lightly, but is also full of giggles and silly moments. Raising our children requires a measure of faith that leaves me speechless.
While so many beautiful moments fill our hearts, the spiritual battle against the flesh is real. It is not an easy battle; we need to ask for strength daily from our Heavenly Father. We cannot do this alone and God doesn’t expect us to. So, what does that look like for us?
How do we stomp through the trenches all the while holding our shields high to protect our families against the hurts, trials, and tribulations of this temporary world?
- We need to run to the cross.
- Pray out loud with and over our sweet children.
- We need to be in community where encouragement fills our souls and wisdom is poured into our veins.
Most of all, we need to give them to the Lord daily. They are in His hands, yet we have the privilege of being called mommy and daddy, as we guide, protect, and walk alongside them through this life.
What a great task we have to show our children the eternal traits of our Heavenly Father. Although, oftentimes we fail or fall short, He gives us an abundant amount of strength and courage to go on. As parents, we walk out our faith so His bigger picture is made complete and to demonstrate the greatness of the cross.
You can do it moms and dads! The Lord can and will equip you daily. Our Father knows what He is doing. He has given us the ability to parent and has confidence in us!
For His Glory,
MEG
Megan was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania. She is the youngest of three siblings. She is an oldie but a goodie kinda' gal. Nick at Nite reruns are her favorite and her go-to is I Love Lucy. She graduated on May 6, 2007, and married sweet Aaron on May 26, 2007, at the ripe age of 22. She loved working for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater PA and Southern WV as Communications Assistant. She now has the great joy of being mommy to her sweet son. God has surely made himself known over the past few months, as Megan has come to a point where she has no other choice but to seek, chase, and yearn for God daily. Her dad was called Home last August after a courageous battle with cancer. She is clinging to her Heavenly Father now more than ever before. Writing and running have helped her during this grieving journey. Megan looks forward to how God is going to use her for His story as it is all “For His Glory.”