For me, being a Christian is a lot more than just going to church on Sundays. Having God in my life means letting him take charge of every aspect of my life. This includes how I raise my son. Here’s what that looks like for our family.
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What does it mean to have faith?
I had a very eye-opening conversation with another mother a few years ago. Her church participated in an annual mission trip to Guatemala. The group’s bus had been hijacked the previous year, with all of the missionaries on board. They came home safely in the end, but it was obviously not the kind of experience most people want for their children.
This mom told me that she was planning to allow her teen daughter to go on the upcoming year’s trip. To the same place. It sounded pretty crazy to me, at the time. This was a woman who I knew loved her kids and put a lot of time and effort into keeping them safe. Trying to reconcile this, I straight-up asked her how she could put her daughter into danger like that. She answered with the boldest statement I’ve ever heard: “God will protect her, or she’ll die and go to heaven. I’m not worried.” It hit me hard, that this is the kind of faith I would need to have when I became a mom.
Up until this point, my plans for raising my children in the faith really hadn’t gone much further than bringing them to church and teaching them the song 'Jesus Loves Me.'
Studying the Bible together as a family seemed like a good starting point, too. But I had never thought about what it would actually mean to live out my faith within my role as a parent.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is where my faith resides. Basically, the idea is that once we recognize that Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins, and accept that sacrifice on our behalf, we become adopted members of God’s family.
The inheritance includes living forever with God in heaven when we die. This is where I find my peace of mind. Truly believing the Bible means that nothing in this life can truly harm me or anyone else who believes. This is also why I will do everything possible to raise my son to have the same faith.
My child is God’s child first; he’s just on loan to me.
Psalm 139:14-15 says, “Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
God knew my son and made plans for him, long before I became his mama. I don’t know what all of these plans are, but it’s my job not to get in the way. It’s normal to have fears when raising a child. We, as parents, have an enormous love for our children, and we want the best for them. For me, that means always keeping in mind that God loves my son even more than I do. And, furthermore, God’s biggest concern is for his eternal well-being. This means that I can’t let fear get in the way of letting my child grow up to do things far outside of my comfort zone.
How do I dismiss fear?
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
We pray about everything that’s on our hearts, the big things and the small things. We tell God our fears and worries, knowing that he loves us even more than we love each other. We pray together daily as a family and throughout the day as things come up that we know are out of our control.
This is often, because how much in life can you truly control? For example, my husband is a firefighter. When he gets a fire call, I don’t know how long he’ll be gone or if he’ll make it back safely. Each time, I make it a point to pray with my son. When we’re done, I remind him that he can do brave, scary things, too, and I won’t try to stop him. I’ll have faith.
My son is still very young, but I think he’ll take it to heart one day. My hope is that, when the time comes, he’ll remind me of my own words. Isn’t that what every parent wants?
