Our Children...God's Children

If you are a parent or have been around young children you realize immediately that you are being watched ALL OF THE TIME. They mimic everything you do from your manerisms, to your words, even how you say things!! They learn from us as adults. They learn from the people around them. They learn from their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, teachers, etc.

So what are we teaching our children?

I was extrememly blessed to grow up with amazing parents who love the Lord. The main thing I want to pass along, not only to my child, but to every child that come in contact with, is that Jesus Loves Them More Than They Will Ever Know and He Wants a Relationship With Them. More importantly, my parents did not just talk about their beliefs and their faith, they lived it out in front of me. They didn't just talk about caring for the least of these, they did it. They didn't just talk about forgiving others, they did it over and over again even when I felt the person didn't deserve it. You see....that's how I know what Christ expects of me. Yes...Sunday School and Church helped me learn Bible verses and other key things but it was the actions of my parents that I learned the most from.

If my child could write down or say right now what her mother believes in or who I am all about, I am not sure what she would say. Would she say "Mommy loves her diet coke" or "Mommy likes to go on runs" or "Mommy's too busy" or _______ fill in the blank. Even though Elizabeth is only 2, she is watching everything. Funny story - when we are out to dinner and the waiter/waitress asks what we want to drink, Elizabeth always says "I want a Diet Coke". Now, she has only had 1 sip of Diet Coke about 1 year ago. She does not drink it and honestly probably doesn't even know if it tastes good. She has learned that this is what Mommy asks for and she sees me drink it. What else is she seeing??

God has entrusted all of us with His children. This is a HUGE undertaking and it is going to take an entire community of believers to raise a child. We as mothers need to support each other. We need to encourage each other that it is not going to always be rainbows and butterflies. We need to stop TALKING about how worried we are about the next generation and start DOING something about it!