October 13

“Think of the blessed confidence with which children cast their cares upon their parents, and recall how the parents love to have it so...The only thing that a mother asks of her child is that it will yield to her care and obey her voice, and then she will take charge of all the rest.  It is the same with us and our God.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 9/29

I can really identify with this.  I remember becoming quite frustrated with my first born because he would not cooperate with my good intentions toward him.  I found myself constantly battling with him whether it was going down for a nap so that he’d be better able to cope or to not drink so much juice so he’d be hungry for supper.  I remember wishing he’d just let me “do my job” of being a good mother.  My second son didn’t appreciate my concern over how much sleep he got as a teenager.  He’d end up sleeping in his first-period class I discovered later.  My youngest son doesn’t seem to understand why I care so much about his schoolwork.  But I must confess I’ve not been the easiest “child” to raise, either.  I can only imagine what God has to say about me!  When I think about the times I’ve not trusted Him by being anxious, the times I’ve felt weary because I wouldn’t let Him carry my burdens, or the times I’ve been sad because I didn’t look to Him for my comfort, I realize that it’s time for me to let Him parent me in the way I wanted to mother my children.  An obedient child is a blessing, indeed.

“Yet, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand.”  Isaiah 64:8