Thoughts of Peace, Not Evil

So the question I’ve been mulling of late is: “Do my thoughts for my children produce fears in me or do they yield prayers of faith?”

I will ask you the same. When you think about the present circumstances or the future plans for your kids, are you at peace or are you anxious?

I have been stretched to my limits recently with this question. As a sidebar, (and I will take liberty to sidebar though my dear wife, Karla, despises my rabbit trails) my limits have looked very different as my kids have grown from baby-stage to elementary to now pre-teen. So, whatever your limit or circumstance, it is all important stuff to consider and think through.

My recent struggle has to do with coaching and guiding very different personalities among my three champions-in-training. In some respects, it’s excruciating; while in others, it’s so refreshing. Needless to say my head is on a swivel and my feet are constantly pivoting to meet the character forming opportunities (aka the tough act of holding them accountable).

I don’t know if it hurts you as much as it hurts me, but I struggle with enforcing consequences. I mean I do, but praise Father for my parents who did and for Karla, who helps me follow through today. Many times I’m tempted to withhold the consequences so fully earned by one or all of my kids because somehow, just maybe, I’m owning their behavior; taking responsibility for their lapse of judgment or lack of maturity and believing that it’s my job to fix them.

Shew wee, that was refreshing to confess. I may be all alone on this one, but possibly you may connect with me on this. We want our children to succeed, yes? Is it possible that I want them to succeed too much? Am I making their success an idol? Wow! In my heart, I believe I have. So what do I do about it?

Well, I believe that my Father God is desperate for my trust in Him. If not, would he have given me a choice, a will? He’s looking for those who will choose him. Why? Because of what he says to me..

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

If this is what he says to you and me, then wouldn’t it be true that he is saying this to our children? How could I compete for wanting the best for my children when our Creator is offering us the promise of peace? And what is this peace? Well, just a few lines down in his love letter to us in Jeremiah 29, verse 13 he says “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

He is saying that the peace that he provides is His very presence in us. Pause….

I’m back. That blows me away and it is so outlandish that I’m compelled to believe him. Why? Because every time I have come to this place of testing and have chosen him, he wins in me. His peace always defeats evil! And now, at 43, this isn’t just about me, it’s about my children; and I want them to succeed. Succeed not just in life, but in the Life that Father offers. The only way I can bring about their success is to turn inwardly to God, who dwells in me, and call out on their behalf. To block my thoughts from turning into anxiety and routing them into believing prayer.

There’s a lot here in these words. And thank you for tracking with me. If God is desperate for our trust in him, should we not pursue our kids’ hearts with all that we have; with all that God is offering to us. If yes, then let’s join our Father in reciting Jeremiah 29:11-13 with our kids.

Partnering with you in prayer over your family!

Ron