The Ultimate Parent

Instill  -   to introduce by gradual instruction, to pour in slowly by drops.


Can I just say that my kids have been driving me crazy lately.  Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I didn't understood God half so much as I do now that I'm a parent.  Take, for instance, the "crazy" side of parenting.  Running to and for, wiping up this and that mess, picking up, cleaning up, comforting, fixing owies.  All of   these things remind me that I have a Father in heaven who feels the way about me that I do about my kids.  Sometimes they annoy me, sometimes they irritate me, sometimes they make me angry, but, they'll always be my kids, and, I'll always love them.

At times, though, it's so hard to be patient with them.  I find myself yelling when I want to remain calm, chastising when I should be comforting, and holding grudges when I should be forgiving.  Yesterday, my daughter had another in a series of "accidents" in her underwear.  It was not pretty.  While washing dishes I began to pour my heart out to God about my stubborn little girl.   I thought about how many times I've had to deal with these same messes over and over again.  After awhile, it just gets old.  Why isn't she learning?  Why is she so stubborn?  Why so unwilling to change?  Then, I thought, 'Wow, all those things I asked - God could be asking the same about me. 'Why isn't she learning?  Why so stubborn?  Why so unwilling to change?' 

God is the ultimate parent.  Finding good in someone and persevering to bring that good out;  much like a potter molds and shapes clay.  What I've noticed about my growth as a believer is that, sometimes, God deals with the same issues over and over again.  It's not like he waves a magic wand, and, poof, all my ickiness is gone.  Quite the contrary, the wrong thing I did yesterday, yes, I'm still doing it today.  What's more, I'll probably be doing it again tomorrow.  But slowly, surely, unerringly, God is remolding me - shaping me into the person I was meant to be. The way God parents me is the way I want to parent my kids.  I want to instill lessons in them that won't be learned for the moment, but, rather, for a lifetime.