Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward. ~ Psalm 127:3
If you are the parent of a beautiful, bouncy, bright eyed small child, you are blessed. You are also almost certainly on the spiritual starvation diet.
Any sensible person understands that the act of caring for a small person (let alone multiple small people) makes for a fragmented attention span and less time for just about everything else. Daily Bible study, regular worship attendance and spiritual activities can drift away without our intending.
But no one can exist on a diet of spiritual starvation.
Do you know what happens to starving people? Eventually they die. And the consequence of spiritually dead mothers is spiritually dead children. We are no longer just in charge of ourselves; we steward the souls of these children, too. The consequences are eternal. As my dad used to remind me, “You’ve got to take care of yourself so you can take care of your kids.” And yet, we don’t have to depend on our own strength; we learn to depend on God.
We mothers (and fathers) must take ownership of our spiritual diets, just as we do our physical ones. We are no longer children ourselves but adults who hold responsibility for the choices we make that affect our souls and the souls of those who live with us.
May I gently alter 1 Corinthians 13:11?
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man (or woman), I gave up childish ways.
He reminds us in another place:
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. ~ Ephesians 4:11-16
I love the way Paul paints this picture – we are to grow up in every way. Learning to take responsibility for our spiritual feeding is a vital way we grow up. Learning to anchor our hearts in the living word keeps us from being “tossed to and fro” in our lives (Ephesians 4:14).
A wise older woman once reassured me that it was good to keep the children’s nap time as my own “quiet time.” The house would wait, the dishes would wait – but that I needed that time for my own heart to find its quiet rest in God. And that would sustain me for what He wanted me to do that day. Unsurprisingly, she was right. The dishes do not always get done, my house doesn’t always get as clean as I’d like, but I’m a better mom and wife if I have spent some time sitting at the feet of Jesus. In the end, what mattered more?
Perhaps it is hard to get started. Here are a few ideas:
*Go to Bible class (you and your children can each go to a Bible class geared for your own ages, thus feeding you and them)
*Go to a Bible study where babysitting is provided or rotated.
*Listen to sermons. My husband has an excellent podcast here. And here are some recorded sermons from my dad.
*Read your Bible daily, even if the kids wake early. Have a special coloring or playdough bucket you bring down only at these times. Don’t try to get things cleaned up. Sit and read for 5 or 10 minutes from your Bible first.
*Learn to seek God alongside your children. Set aside a regular time with them to have Bible time. Sing Jesus Loves Me This I know, for the Bible tells me so – and let its rich truth reassure your tired heart. Read through picture Bibles and repeat memory verses together.
This season of wailing babies, wiggly toddlers and clingy kids is hard and beautiful and chaotic. And yet it is just that – a season. May we each learn the courage and joy to seek and find God’s daily manna to sustain our hearts.
Wattsup With Kids 