Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

As Daylight Savings has come and gone this weekend, I’ve been left wondering – where has this school year gone?  In my mind, it seems like yesterday I was taking my fourth-grade daughter to meet the teacher.  For that matter, it feels like last week that my now 12 (soon to be 13)-year-old son was saying, “hold you” to me so I would pick him up.  Where did the time go?  When did my children grow into the self-sufficient, self-motivated young people that they are, and where was I when this happened?  Ten years ago, I distinctly remember being in the grocery store with my children when an elderly woman said to me, “just watch, you will blink, and they won’t need you so much anymore.”  I think I just blinked.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on time lately, especially as my children are on the brink of innocence lost.  I can almost feel the world knocking at the doors of their hearts, just waiting to be let in.  Oh, how I don’t want them to open that door!  Don’t get me wrong, I want them to experience life – I simply don’t want them to experience the sin that accompanies it.  While our culture offers incredible opportunities to grow in a meaningful relationship with Christ, it also presents many other deceitful, more alluring avenues.  I’ve seen how this world can change a child – a once faith-filled teenager turned faithless wanderer, an all-American girl turned hopeless addict, a humble young man turned arrogant and prideful, a once shy student turned bitter and angry.  I could go on and on, and it leaves me asking myself, “Have I equipped my children for the spiritual war their hearts are about to face?”

One of my favorite pieces of scripture that Jesus spoke to His disciples referred to keeping a child-like faith in the midst of a self-centered society.  “At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  He called a little child and had him stand among them.  And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-4).  I pray my children will never lose that spirit of humility, and that their love (for Christ and this world) will “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Philippians 1:9).  For, I am desperate for them to grasp our extraordinary God and His Holy Word much sooner than I did!

In the meantime, I sit and wait for what the future will bring, and I try my hardest to be a good leader.  I realize while I have been given the precious privilege of being a parent, my children have only been entrusted to me for a short time.  I must use my time wisely and continue to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).  I cling to and claim the words of Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”   I pray God will help me guide them to His mighty throne so they will recognize their particular place in His Kingdom and know their Creator has a specific purpose for them to  fulfill.  I need to focus my energy into training my children to not only be Christians, but also be active warriors for Christ!

So, today, as I reflect on the past decade, I am so very thankful for my babies – who aren’t babies anymore.  I cherish what time I have left to influence their decisions regarding their lives, and I recognize the urgency of the role I play.  May they continue to cultivate their relationship with our Heavenly Father and develop their spiritual armor so they will be ready for the battle that lay ahead.

Until next week, seeking to raise a warrior…Katie