... are a blessing from God. Our kids can help bring us closer to God and help us to become the person He made us to be. But only if we humble ourselves and let it happen.
The process can be uncomfortable because for years and years, before the kids, we've been building up our egos and attachments and conforming to the things of this world and they have deeply become our identity. But just like Adam and Eve, when the Devil got them focused on that one thing, which they couldn't have, and got them to believe they needed that in their lives, in addition, to what they already had - (the source of true joy and happiness), the Devil tries to make us think... "Oh if I have kids then I can't do this or that anymore or wear those clothes anymore... etc." Whatever thought it was for you, it's not the source of your true joy and happiness either.
Matthew 18:3 says you must change and become like little children. If you don't do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. I think most people say this means to believe in everything the Bible says without a doubt, Just as a little kid believes in everything their dad says.
There is more that we can learn to be like from our children, such as:
To be humble
Matthew 18:4 goes on to say, "The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child."
Kids can help us with this humbling part. Chipping away at our ego until we realize it's all
fake and not important anyway.
Example: Say you're known for looking fabulous all the time and wearing the best clothes.
And you tell yourself your kids will be fashionable always as well.
Then your baby pees or throws up on you. And your kid refuses to wear the
expensive brand-name tennis shoes you bought and insists on wearing those old
scruffy comfy shoes, and then outgrows the expensive ones before ever wearing
them.
Example: Say you're known for never missing a happy hour. But then you have babies and you
can't believe it, but now you just want to get home so you don't miss the next
milestone or funny thing your baby does. You prefer to read and tuck your babies snuggly into bed and be rested and ready when they're up at crack of dawn, not
cranky.
To our kids, it's not important what we look like. Maintaining all the best clothes and spending
hours in the bathroom to look pretty does not define us in our children's eyes. It's how we treat
them and how we take care of ourselves and having a balanced life is best for us and our
children.
To live pure, and focus on the good.
We adore and try to protect our kids' innocence and pureness. As a mom, it brings me sweet
tender joy to hear my kids playing pretend with stuffed animals and just being kids in the next
room.
So it's like when you go on a diet and go without sugar for several months and then drink a soda
for the first time. You really notice how sugary it is now. It stands out more and you don't really
like it as much as you once did. It's like if you stop smoking for a few weeks and then have
your first drag. You cough and it burns your throat because your body has been cleansed.
After watching only sesame street, mickey mouse, and Disney movies for years with young
kids, when I turned on a "grown-up" rated R horrific violent movie - it felt wrong and
disgusting. I don't even like it anymore. Now I think it's perverse that someone directs people to
act out horrific scenes.
And if I didn't have kids I may not have been introduced to animated movies such as Sing,
Moana, and Frozen. BEST MOVIES EVER! (in my opinion :)
Kids want to do what's right and follow the rules once they learn that something is a rule.
When the traffic light is yellow and I speed up to get through my kids gasped...." mommy,
you're supposed to slow down, how dare you!
Why do grown-ups think it's grown up to curse. They apologize when accidentally cursing
around kids. And when we hear a little child say a curse word, it is so apparent that it's wrong.
So then I ask you....when is it "ok" to begin cursing? 10 yrs old... 12.... 16... I say never. You
were told not to curse when you were young too... and never told, "ok, now it's ok". So
somewhere along the way you just began following the crowd and gave in to the temptation or
believed the lie that that's what grown-ups should do.
We too should love what is good and want to follow the rules... God's rules.
Romans 12:9 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good.
Matthew 15:11 It is not what a person puts into his mouth that makes him unclean. It is what
comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean.
Colossians 3:8 But now put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying
things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk.
To be persistent in what we want, keep asking, keep trying.
Are we there yet, are we there yet are we there yet....?
Kids are relentless in asking and reminding us of something we said we would do or buy for them. They don't let you forget and they keep asking and asking until they get the answer.
If a process needs to change at your job for the better. Be like little kids and just keep asking and keep talking about it about change happens.
Matthew 7: Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you.
To be curious, constant learners.
But why, but why, but why....
My 5 yr old quietly stares out the window for a few seconds and then says... "How does poop come out of our butt?" I wanted to both burst out laughing and say Ewwww... But come to think of it. It is a mysterious process.
My son is curious to know how things work. So I tried my best to answer the question
seriously, so not to stifle is curiosity and continual questioning.
At whatever job we find ourselves in life right now, let's become curious constant learners at it
instead of complainers at it.
To love everyone.
Until I had kids I wasn't able to fathom how much God could love is. My heart just wants to
burst because it grows and grows each year in the amount of love I have in my heart for my
kids. I wish there was a word a thousand times stronger than love, that's how much we love our
kids.
And - oh my gosh... God loves us even more. Truly, truly mind-blowing then how much God
loves us each of us.
John 13:34-35 You must love each other as I have loved you. All people will know that you are
my followers if you love each other.
Romans 13:8 Do not owe people anything. But you will always owe love to each other.
I love how my kids don't judge when they see someone on the street asking for money. They
don't judge who seems worthier or not..."Oh that person
could get a job if they tried." or "That person is just going to use my money to buy drugs."
Love is also about gently being truthful and honest. And isn't that how kids are. If they walk
into your house and your house smells like cigarettes... they'll let you know. If my breath is
kicking in the morning... they let me know I need to brush my teeth. My kids love pointing out
all the jiggly bits on my body. And after a few weeks of indulging too much in the sweets, my
daughter gently rubs my belly and says, "There's a baby in there". That reminds me to get back
to eating better proportions.
To be silly, goofy, and have fun. Don't take ourselves so seriously all the time.
Just enjoy being with Mom and Dad.
Sometimes you may feel like you can't get a moment of alone time. You take a shower and
open the curtain and there they are. You wake up to someone tapping you on your shoulder.
God wants you to want to be near him that much.
Yes - there is a little self-denial in having a family - but the lie is that that's not good.
Jesus says - him who denies himself will find himself. So just let go of that ego and let God fill
the space with true freedom - His love, joy, and the love of a family then you'll discover your
true self.
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