Spoon Fed

I had dinner with a sweet friend and as always we get on the topic of our kids! We hash out the why's, the what are they thinking, will they ever get it....and then we ask, "where is the manual"? When you bring your new baby home from the hospital, all is well. So you think! They go through a phase of having their days and nights mixed up, then you finally get them to sleep through the night...(please cue the Hallelujah Chorus)! They begin crawling, walking, forming little personalities; life is good. Then one morning you wake up and some teenager with attitude has taken over your child's body! All the while you are exhausted and have the thought, "will we ever make it through this stage"?

We go through their lives, praying for the next stage in hopes it will be easier than the previous. I can honestly remember the day when I thought, "well now; we have made it"! It is that stage when you can go through the drive thru of McDonalds, hand your children their happy meal and keep moving. They are beginning to be self sufficient. O WHAT A HAPPY DAY! I recall this as though it were yesterday, I didn't have to spoon feed them anymore.

As our children have grown, we as parents seem to struggle with letting go. For so long we have wanted them to be self sufficient and as long as it is the "Happy Meal" we are good, but when it comes to them becoming young adults, we want to continue spoon feeding!

Their whole life we have worked on preparing them for adulthood. We taught character through sharing their toys during play dates, faith through Bible stories and life circumstances, learning to pray for others, thanking God for blessing us with food, to care for the less fortunate and a work ethic through chores. They have been given the tools to become productive, God fearing individuals....BUT for some reason we expect perfection when they become young adults. Why? I still haven't perfected it!

When it comes down to it, we as parents must LET GO AND LET GOD! Okay, there I said it! They must feed themselves. I read once in Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson, "When we pray, we relieve ourselves of responsibility. We let go and let God. We take our hands off and put our concerns into  the hands of Almighty God. And trust me, He can handle whatever we put in His hands."(45) In Luke 11, Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. He speaks of being persistent and praying with boldness. In verse 8 it says, "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet BECAUSE OF THE MAN'S BOLDNESS, he will get up and give him as much as he needs." Persistent and bold prayers is what must be done...then LET IT, I mean "THEM" GO! If I were honest, this is SOOO hard for me, I find myself in prayer continually, which isn't that what scripture says...to "pray without ceasing"?

As I reflect on this day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful that God continually guides and teaches me through His scripture. I don't always learn the lesson the first time, but I am thankful for His PERSISTENCE AND BOLDNESS WITH ME!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!