This blog is written by a recent graduate of Cultivate Coach Training program. It’s been a joy to grow with you, Jennifer!
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. ~1 John 5:21
I have had the privilege to be surrounded by many amazing mothers. Mothers who would do anything to keep their kids happy and protected. I feel the same way about my own children, I want to do everything possible to keep them inside the safety of my nest. Free from disappointment, free from the evils of the world. I want to be their hero, the one they can trust and fully rely on. None of that is a bad thing unless we are building ourselves up to be an idol in our children’s eyes. The truth is we will disappoint our kids. We will make mistakes that will either directly or indirectly affect our kids in a negative way. We are human, and we will not parent perfectly no matter how bad our desire to do so is. That may sound depressing but keep reading it gets better I promise.
One of Satan’s biggest traps is to convince us that we alone are responsible for our children’s safety, happiness, and growth. Nothing could be further from the truth! You should take a deep breath of relief here mamas because this is good news. I am not saying that we don’t have an incredibly important role to play in these areas of our children’s lives, but God is the one that needs the Hero status. He is the only one who is constant and perfect and will never disappoint our children. The only one who can move mountains and part seas. That is what we must teach them. I wonder why we aren’t teaching our kids this truth. Is it because we struggle to believe it ourselves? Precious daughters of God let me assure you, He is trustworthy, and He is the only one who will never leave you or forsake you. The only one who knows every hair on your head and whose thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand. We must believe this ourselves before we can instill this truth in our children. My precious sisters you will fail your children, but God’s true love will never fail them. We need to be pointing them to the real Hero. We need to be sure that we do not make ourselves an idol in our children’s eyes.
So, you may be wondering how to practically put this into practice. Here are a few tips…
- You must believe it yourself! If you are struggling with this truth allow someone to walk alongside you to help you grow in your spiritual life. Once you believe it yourself begin asking God for wisdom in your parenting. Only God knows what is best for your children.
- Create a way for your children to get to know God and His promises on a consistent basis. That means that finding a good church that preaches the love and truth of God is critical. We were made for fellowship and our kids need it too. Read God’s word together with you children. Allow God to minister to both of you while grazing through the pages of his love letter to us. Point your children to Jesus. When they have a bad dream teach them that God will take away their nightmares and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to be their comforter. Say a prayer, give them snuggles and then lead them back to bed. When they get hurt physically or emotionally pray for them and ask God to heal them. Teach them to guard their heart with others and seek God’s wisdom for themselves. When someone fails them, teach them to forgive and pray for that person to know Jesus. God is faithful.
- Lastly take yourselves off the throne and allow God to be number one. Be okay that they run to Him before running to you, in fact you should encourage it. Get out of the way and let Jesus be their superhero.
The post Just Say No to Being Super Mom appeared first on The Family Greenhouse.