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Have you noticed how hard parenting can be?

I’ve been talking with my husband lately about how difficult parenting can be.  I said to him the other day, “You know, you’d think that after twenty three years of parenting we would have this down!”  We both just stared blankly at each other—you know, the kind of staring you do when you’re spent and don’t have anything left to say… that kind.

Having children and actually doing the tough job of parenting them can really push you. I’ve noticed that as our children have gotten older, we’ve needed to rely more and more and more on God and His wisdom as we parent our children.  There’s a funny thing about children: they may come from the same set of parents, but they are NEVER the same, are they?

We have seven children, and they are nothing like each other.  They don’t have the same personalities, they don’t look the same, they don’t struggle with the same things, and we often marvel to each other that two parents can have seven children that could be so different!  Because of this, we need unique guidance from the Lord for them.

I want to read to you today from James 1.  I hope you’ll get out your highlighters or your pencils and pens and write in the margins of your Bible and at the very least, write today’s date.  There’s something about looking back in your Bible and remembering when God taught you something new or spoke to you in a new way.

This verse is a great verse for moms especially.  Listen to what James had to say about wisdom:

If any of you lacks wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking, but when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave tossed by the wind.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world. They are unstable in everything they do.”

God is telling us that He wants us to have faith in Him when we ask Him for things. So mom, when you need faith for that child of yours who is faithless, or you need wisdom for a decision that has been weighing you down, ask the Lord.  He wants you to come before Him with great faith and trust in Him, because He is trustworthy.  If you’re struggling today, take your struggle to the Lord.  Tell Him that you need to have more faith.  Ask Him for the wisdom that you need for that child or that teenager, or that ten-year old that’s making you crazy.  Ask the Lord to show you exactly what that child needs.  Ask him for that specific situation.

The Lord wants to give it to you. He says that if you need wisdom, ask Him, and He’ll give it to you.

He’s good like that.