“I love you so much. Please don’t choose this path,” I said to my son as tears ran down my cheeks.
And in the middle of this moment of the hard work of parenting, I realized how much my view of God has changed over the years. I once saw God as punitive and therefore, I was often harsh and punitive as well but now that I know He is a God of boundless compassion and grace, it frees me to be filled with the same.
I think one of the most beautiful aspects of parenting is that it reflects so much of our own state back to us. Parenting shows us our selves in all of our own rebellious, stupid choices. The humility that follows allows us to see God in all of His fierce love, tender longing, and infinite mercy for us.
Then…when we as parents fall into Fallen Adam Parenting and are harsh, impatient, and selfish, the Spirit of God groans within us and reminds us that we stand on equal ground before the Cross of Christ with our children. In truth, we are fellow sojourners with them- stumbling, falling, and then rising to receive grace and reflect glory back to the Creator once again.
Jesus had this to say about parents-
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
These are the words The Spirit of God whispered to my heart as I looked into my son’s eyes and called him to life. It was a good gift given from the deep well of a mother’s love and yet it was only a child’s trinket glittering in the sand compared to the treasures of our Father in Heaven whose love for us never falters and whose mercy never wanes.
