Parenting Lessons by God
One of my favorite parts of parenting is how it has brought me such clarity from God. Being a mom has strengthened my relationship with God in ways that I couldn’t imagine, not just in the “I pray more often because I cannot raise this kid in my own strength” kinda way. Which, yes! And also…
There are random moments where God reminds me that I am his child, and if I would do it for mine without even blinking why wouldn’t He do the same for me? Or when I am watching a Disney movie and a key part of the storyline opens my eyes to a life lesson God has been wanting me to grasp. And my personal favorite being the daily reminder that God will provide applies to so much more than money, but it also includes capacity, energy, awareness of my kid’s needs, or divine intuition and insight curated especially for my child. God will provide whatever I need to raise the child he has left in my care, and that constant reminder opens my eyes to how amazing it is to have the God of the universe as your Father.
I will never forget the morning that God made it painfully clear that raising this little girl was my top priority above everything else. Above myself (although I’m a closeeeee 2nd), above church obligations, above work, above absolutely everything! My church often does 21 days of prayer and will hold prayer services in the morning every day in person and with a live stream, the ask is that you aim to attend at least 1 day a week in person. I was feeling guilty because I was a new single mom and at the time she was all of 18 months, but I just couldn’t bring myself to drag her out of the bed to attend service in person.
One morning, God made it crystal clear that she is my priority above all. He gave me the honor and responsibility of being her mother and there is no one else in this world he entrusted that responsibility to, so I have to prioritize her at all times. Now, we’ll get to the importance of self-care as a mother and how just because she’s #1 on the list doesn’t mean my needs don’t matter…but that’s a different conversation for another week! For now, I just wanted to say that I’m always left in awe of how God will use my experience as a parent to speak to me directly. In the small every day moments I get to share with my daughter, I wish this on everyone who desires it for themselves!