Perfect Parenting

Those who have children:  how's your stress level? Off the charts? You've got lots of company.

This time of  year creates anxiety for most parents. Getting the children back on a structured school schedule takes a lot of planning and effort. Snapping them from summer's "sleep-in-'til-noon" mode to the "wake-up-and-get-moving" regimen takes the diligence of a boot camp sergeant.

In addition to school there are sports practices and games, music lessons, church activities, etc. Everything seems to start this time of year, making for a very busy family schedule. Oh yes, then there's your work and managing a household. And don't even get me started on the laundry. I remember.

Jesus, a parent?

 

I've always believed Jesus, because of his 33 years on earth, understands everything we humans experience--our joys, sorrows, fears, etc. However, when I was raising four very active and opinionated youngsters many years ago, I just knew my Savior could not know what it was like. After all, he wasn't married and wasn't a parent.

Then it dawned on me Jesus did have children--his twelve disciples. They were babes in the faith and when he called them from their various lifestyles he had twelve amateurs on his hands. He led them through the precarious stages of infancy into childhood and on through to maturity in their Christian faith. How comforting. He loved, taught, nurtured and reprimanded. He fed them and even washed their feet in loving service. Sounds a lot like parenthood.

He also dealt with sibling rivalry when the disciples asked who would be greatest in his kingdom. He handled temperamental attitudes in James and John, nicknamed "men of thunder." Do you have any thunderous children in your household?

He coped with the impetuousness of Peter (got one of those?), the skepticism of Thomas, and the rebellion of Judas, the greatest heartbreak of all. Though adults in age, these men were childlike in their walk with Christ and he worked patiently to bring them to competent Christian adulthood.

A Divine Role Model

How do we follow him as a role model for parenting?

• Note how frequently he went off by himself to communicate with his father. Pray, pray, pray every day, all day for your children.

• Trust him because he knows your fears and anxieties whether your children are babies, toddlers, teenagers, or adults--whether they're making good decisions or bad, he knows your heart.

• Read about his interaction with his disciples and other people he encountered and glean parenting skills from that.

Take heart, parents. You will get through the hectic times of child-rearing though it will take every ounce of your energies and then some. Dip into God's power to get through these busy, busy times.

Remember, Jesus does know what you're going through

for he is the PERFECT PARENT.