Last week I shared that the child we struggled with the most was our child that battled with trust. Ironically, it is also the same child that continually fights her own demons to be able to be honest & not tell lies or be deceptive.
I have really been focusing on the importance of complete obedience from ALL my children. Thankfully, they go in cycles & aren’t all totally rebellious at the same times. It is important for our children to obey us & things our way; just as it is important for us to obey God & do things His way. I have recently been struggling with this discipline primarily with Taylor & the laundry & Trevor & food. I have asked Taylor to fold the laundry a certain way & she refuses to comply. Whether it is true defiance or simply forgetfulness is irrelevant. It isn’t really about the laundry, it is about the lack of respect that her actions are saying in her “my way” attitude. In the same way, I have a similar problem with Trevor – they boy loves food! And he won’t stay out of the pantry. We are constantly finding cereal spread across the floor & spilled milk all over. He sneaks into the bread & chips bags & doesn’t close them – causing the entire bag to ruin. I have all but stood on my head for these two & yet they still refuse to obey me completely.
These are just small examples of problems I am dealing with in the area of true obedience with a couple of my children. Praise God it is just laundry & food – although majorly annoying & disrespectful, my battles were much greater not too long ago. The last two years with Taylor were extremely difficult for our entire family. Thankfully, we seem to be on the downhill of that journey now, but the emotions are still very fresh. I remember being in the trenches of that time in our lives & continually asking God to show me what it was He was trying to teach me through the circumstances. You see, it was almost as much about me learning about myself as it was about our daughter & her issues. Taylor, without any doubt, has been our most challenging, trying child, but she has also made Tim & I both, better parents. If you are experiencing struggles with one of your children (or anything in life for that matter), I urge you to stop right now & surrender to God. I promise He will be faithful to you. You must trust that He is working in this situation to achieve His perfect will.
Sometimes God allows us to experience struggles to grab our attention & refocus us back on Him. Other times as Lisa points out, “He is pruning, shaping, correcting, strengthening, or testing us . . . Sometimes God asks us to do something but we are scared or uncertain about whether He will be there to help us through it.” This summer Taylor hinted at the possibility of her returning home to homeschool. In all honesty, I was scared to death. Part of me felt a little self-satisfaction in knowing “I was right.” But for the most part I was very apprehensive – after all, it hasn’t been that long since we were a total mess. Although, the majority of the pieces have been put together, it is still a very vulnerable situation at any given moment. We have come along way & it is far more important for me to be her (step)mother than her teacher. Not to mention that there are also 4 other children that are at home & affected by her possible return to homeschooling. Plus, there was my marriage & sanity to account for!! I really didn’t understand it. I battled with the idea of “Public School” in the beginning & had just truly become okay with our situation. Was God asking me to bring her home now? As I later learned, it wasn’t about homeschooling Taylor – it was all about me being willing to if that was what God was calling me to do.
What troubles you? Are you struggling with a child or situation? Are you to do something God is asking you to do?
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