Dear Lord,
So far I’ve done all right.
I haven’t gossipped,
haven’t lost my temper,
haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent.
I’m really glad about that.But in a few minutes, God,
I’m going to get out of bed.
And from then on,
I’m going to need a lot more help.”
Ever felt like praying this prayer? I have! A candle, cup of tea and my Bible get me started off right. I’ve laid my burdens at Jesus’ feet. I’ve read His words and they have ministered to my heart. I’ve worshiped Him. I have asked Him to change me, to help me grow, to bless my family and lead them. I’m sure it’s going to be a wonderful day, and all is well with the world.
And then I get out of the chair.
And sometimes, it feels as if all is downhill from there!
Wouldn’t motherhood, wifehood, even Christianity be much easier … if there weren’t any other people involved? But I suppose then we have the problem alluded to in that scene from It’s a Wonderful Life, when the family’s help says, “That (the noise happening upstairs) is why all children should be girls!” and then the elder Mrs. Bailey says, “But if they were all girls–oh, never mind!”
God loves relationships. He, Himself, exists as a relationship–Father, Son and Spirit, three in One–a mystery we can’t wrap our minds around. We bear His image, and part of that is this need we have for relationships; to know and be known, to love well, to draw strength and learn from one another. Yet relationships are not easy. Sinful people, living together in a broken world, sometimes hurt one another. We misunderstand and are misunderstood. We struggle with pride and envy, greed and deceit. So do those around us–and our children are no exception.
We need God’s grace.
“Giving the gift of grace to our children is actually a two-part process. First, we need to help our children receive grace. We do this both by extending grace to them and by teaching them about God’s grace through salvation. After that, by our teaching and example, we must train our children to give grace to others in turn.
Jesus summed up this two-part process when He was asked to name the greatest commandment. He said we are first to love the Lord God with all our hearts (receiving grace) and then we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (giving grace). This commandment, therefore, sums up the first gift we can give to our children–the desire and ability to understand and receive the grace of God and to give it to the rest of the world.
Understanding the importance of the gift of grace has really helped me respond to the daily dilemmas and frustrations of life in a household of four children. As we go through our days, for instance, I try to be mindful that, to God, relationships are always a top priority. I try to think of ways I can model for my children the redemptive grace and love of Jesus–and also influence them to extend grace to others through their actions and their attitudes.” ~ The Ministry of Motherhood
We will always be pressed by our relationships. My prayer is that they press us all closer to the heart of God, Who loves to extend His grace to us, and teaches us through His example to do the same.
Giving grace to others and modeling that for our children is such a good reminder, especially since our family will soon be on a trip to see cousins, and I will be face to face with adult siblings that I am not real close in relationship. I will definitely need God’s grace during this time and will need to extend grace especially since we live our lives so differently then the siblings I grew up with.
So true. It amazes me sometimes how my time with God is so fulfilling and beautiful. All things seems right with the world. Meaning my heart and emotions, I guess, and then enter my children. How the peace flies!
I’m learning to try to keep my eyes on Jesus throughout the day. “You keep in perfect peace, him whose eyes are steadfast on you.”
I still need so much training and understanding in the area of grace. Thank you Sally.
Sending you Hugs,
Michelle
I’m so very thankful for God’s grace (His undeserved , unmerited favor) in my life! How much more should we extend that grace to our family and to others!
That is one of my favorite Mary Cassatt paintings.
Thinking and praying for you today. I hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday weekend!
AMEN! And boy, can I identify with the little poem at the beginning!
That prayer at the beginning is AWESOME!!! So funny and true!
Hugs,
Anna
Hi Sally,
Thanks so much for your encouragement in so many ways! (Now if you would only come to my area for a little talk! Lancaster/Philadelphia, PA area) I couldn’t find a way to contact you, so I hope you don’t mind me leaving a comment full of questions.
This fall my moms’ group/Bible study is looking for a God-focused book for moms. I am quite certain we’ll choose Ministry or Mission of Motherhood. I have only learned of you/your books/ministry in the past few months, so I was wondering if you could advise me in ages of children the moms/readers would be parenting in Mission/Ministry. Do you have a recommendation as to which book to begin with? (I am thinking Mission.)
Also, we meet at the church (instead of a home). Would it be appropriate to watch your Mission videos as a group that are available at MomHeart?
Thanks so much for your patience! Please email me at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Annette
thissimplemom AT gmail DOT com
Thanks for your sweet comments. I think you would enjoy Mission as a Bible study and many moms have used the dvd’s that go along with them. I am so excited you are doing this. Hope it is a wonderful group and experience for you.
Blessings,
Sally
PS Moms of all ages have read both–I always give Mission as a baby gift to new moms as well as to moms of older children and then follow Ministry after that. But women have done it both ways. Hope that helps.
PS You can order the dvd’s at http://www.wholeheart.org
Thank you, Sally!
Thank you for sharing. I loved the beginning prayer. I feel like that all to often!
WOW! Great post! This spoke to my heart and it was right on time. Thanks for sharing your heart.
God bless!
It’s such a joy to read your post and your refreshing and challenging reminder that grace in relationships is so necessary and important. We also have a post on extending God’s grace to others on our own Life & Worship blog @
http://www.boydbrainmusic.wordpress.com/extending-gods-grace