Children

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations

Jeremiah 1:5

 

Parenthood is an amazing thing. It’s a blessing. It’s fruststrating. It’s wonderful. It’s heartbreaking.

From that first moment when you realize you’re about to bring a life into this world you’re forever changed. The Lord works a miracle in every baby He creates. Not just in the babies whose parents want them but in all of them. Every child ever created is a miracle of the Lord’s making.

He has a purpose for them.

A plan for their lives.

He’s picked out their path long before we knew they were on their way.

And…

Then…

He…

Entrusts them…

To…

Us.

They come into this world tiny and innocent, unaware that they’re even people. But even as brand new babies they already have a sinful nature. It’s hard to believe that, hard to see it, when we hold those tiny, precious miracles in our arms. At least…it’s hard for me to see it, hard for me to admit it. Because when I look at a new baby all I see is total innocence.

But that innocent baby has a destiny, a path, a life, picked out and planned ahead by our Creator. And because of the sin of Adam that innocent baby comes into the world stained with sin. Even when our human minds and emotions have a hard time grasping that…

It’s there.

As parents we want the best for our children. We raise them to be what we want them to be, what we hope they will be. But..they have a path planned by our Lord. They are born in sin and therefore have a sinful nature that may take them on paths we don’t want.

I have children ranging in age from still forming in the womb to grown. With the exception of the one I have yet to meet they all have very distinct personalities. They are all different. And yet there is something about them that is all the same.

They can break my heart without trying.

They challenge me. They push me into places I don’t want to go. They remind me what it was like to be young. They make me stop and think about life from a different perspective. They put me through experiences I wouldn’t choose for myself. They make me laugh. They make me hurt. They push me away with words. They pull me back with neediness.

They are young.

They are searching for who they are in their own rights.

They are struggling to grow up, to find their places…in the family, in the world. Sometimes they let me help them. The younger ones are eager for my input, for my involvement in their lives. The older one’s act like they’d rather I wasn’t around. A simple question on how things are going for them gets me a two hour answer with the little ones and an attack from the older ones because they think I’m prying.

Parenthood.

It keeps me young.

It makes me old.

I rejoice for my children when things are going good for them. I cry for them when they hurt. I wish I could fix things when they go bad for them. And I pray always that the Lord will save them and keep them on a path that will keep them out of the worst sins.

But as I look at these children that I love so much I must remember that while I have hopes for them, while I want certain things for them, while I try and lead them to be a certain type of person…I must still remember that the Lord has their path planned.

I am but a vessel that He uses to get them where He wants them to be.