The Investment is Worth The Time & Effort

God blessed my husband and me with one daughter, Carissa, who will turn 22 in about 4 weeks. I remember holding her the day she was born...and looking at her long, curly dark eyelashes, her beautiful blue eyes, and her soft skin. My husband and I had dreams for her; not dreams to pursue a certain career, but dreams for her to become a woman of integrity and character. As young people get into adolescence and sometimes seem to forget all you ever tried to teach them (like how to make a bed and clean their room and more) it is easy to wonder how they will "turn out." I have several thoughts:

1. Just keep on praising. Young people don't need to hear your fears or concerns expressed. They are trying so desperately to prove they are okay. They need our affirmation.

2. While your children are young invest all you are able to into them. Yes, it's work; and yes, sometimes it's trying, but it is well worth the effort.

3. Prayer is one of your greatest resources. What a mighty God we have who wants our children to become productive adults. Go to Him and ask Him to fix what you cannot fix in them. (Sometimes what we think needs fixing is actually the corresponding weakness of one of their greatest strengths; getting rid of the weakness might also get rid of the strength!)

You may be wondering what brought this blog to my mind. Carissa and I are employed by the same ministry. We are in the process of producing a music CD to be released in October. The recording company came to our campus and set up their equipment to record. Carissa was put in charge of coordinating all of the singers and musicians, checking them in, giving instructions, having snacks, drinks, etc. in the room and more. The recording was scheduled for two and a half days from early morning until late at night. She had a lot to do; she left early in the morning and arrived home late at night. But she was excited. Everything went so well and I received so many comments about how she treated the people, took care of all the details and helped the entire process run smoothly.

It's very rewarding to see her becoming a responsible, gracious young lady of integrity and character. We worked hard to invest in her and make our home a happy place. However, we are human and we did not always succeed. We made many mistakes as parents; and, in fact, there are many reasons humanly speaking that she should not be a functioning adult! But I believe one of the most important things we did was take her to the Lord in prayer. God can get to the heart where we cannot. God can work where we cannot.

If you have children at home, invest in their lives daily; but also daily take them to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to help them become all he wants them to be. He wants to partner with you in rearing your children!