Driving down the road, I glance in the rear-view mirror.
The little guy I dropped off at
the beginning of the school year is now a whole year bigger.
I can’t believe a whole school year
has passed. I can’t believe my guy is getting so big.
He is so sweet. I turn around to see his beautiful face that
is now almost a third grader and give him a great big smile. I keep sneaking
peeks of him in the mirror and he just laughs and looks away like he doesn’t
notice. Being my first born and the only one in school I can only hope that
this gets easier.
The end of the school year is hardest for me. I know some
people struggle at the beginning of the year but I spend the last few days of
school sad about another year passing by.
As the tears stream down my face, I quickly search for my
sunglasses to keep him from seeing me melt right in front of him. As I force a
smile through my sadness, he just giggles. Thank God for those angel smiles
that He sends through our little kids when times are tough.
As I look in the rear view mirror at my guy, I wonder what
he sees when he looks back at me.
My inner struggle lately has been with second guessing my
thoughts, actions, and reactions to my children. My greatest desire is that my
kids will grow up to love Jesus with all their hearts. I feel this pressure as
being the person that they look at and see the genuine love of Jesus. I just
wonder who the Jesus is they see in me. As mothers we have a great influence on
our children that we should consider carefully.
One of our favorite things to do is sing. We spend every
morning driving to school singing to the tunes of our favorite Christian radio
station. We crank up the radio and sing loudly, well okay maybe just I sing
loudly. But I can see their little mouths ready to break out in song any day
now.
I often times get strange looks as I am driving down the
road because I have one hand on the wheel and the other hand lifted to the heavens
praising my Lord. I usually get funny looks because people are not sure if I am
waving at them or yelling at them (I do sing loudly in my car, not well, just
loudly). Don’t worry I focus on my
driving.
My kids know that I love Jesus. We talk about Him at every
opportunity. He is a part of who we are but my desire is that He is not just a
part of who we are or just pieces of us but that He defines all our actions,
thoughts, and ways. We Praise Him for constantly transforming us and making us
more like Him every day.
Paul gives us great direction for our personal
responsibility in Romans 12. In verse 1 Paul tells us that we are to give
ourselves to God because all He has done for us. This means that daily we have
to consciously and intently give up our own desires to follow Him.
In verse 2 Paul
continues, Don’t copy the behavior and customs
of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way
you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and
pleasing and perfect.
If I want to be able to look at my kids in the mirror and
wonder what they are seeing when they look back at me I can always look to the
instruction manual that God gave us for daily living, His Word.
Don’t copy the behavior or customs of this world. That is
hard. That is why we have to be intent about our choices. Proverbs
3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean
on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will
make your paths straight.
How many of us often times turn to the people around us for
counsel on our daily lives. We turn to our significant others, our family, our
friends, and social media. What is the problem with that? Some of you may be
thinking, nothing. Look at these two verses.
Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord
and not in ourselves and our own understanding, Romans 12:2 says Let God transform you and your thinking, not
to conform to the thinking of this world.
What is the harm with turning to others? What is the problem
with going for advice or help with our kids, family, marriage, jobs, and
finances, to other people?
My thoughts and your thoughts are limited to our own
understanding. We are finite. Limited to what we can see and understand.
Psalm 147:5 says,
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. (NIV) Other
versions use the word infinite. He can see it all, past, present, and future.
He can see the whole picture.
If I want my kids to see Jesus in me, Proverbs 3:6 says, In
all my ways, every situation, the Good, the bad, and the often times messy, I
turn to Him. I acknowledge Him first. I
go to Him first to teach me to be the mom He wants me be and to be like more
like Him.
His promises are He will guide my paths, He will make my
paths straight. He will guide me and transform me to be more like Him. I have
to let God transform me into a
new person by changing the way I think. Changing the way I act. Changing me
from the inside out.
Please SHARE with us. How do you handle the end of the school year? Please comment below and encourage us with your walk with God.
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