Sowing Jesus at Home on the Hard Days
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.” (Galatians 6: 7-9, AMP)
“Cast your burden on the Lord [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).” (Psalm 55:22, AMP)
There are days, as a parent, that your kids will test you. They will fight each other like they’re trying to draw blood. They will disobey and defy you in ways that will knock you off your feet. And they’ll act out in ways that makes me think at least, “I was NEVER like this as a child.”
And maybe I wasn’t, but I’m sure in other ways, I was. I can remember plenty of times I got in trouble for talking back, being mean to my brother, or being disrespectful. I can remember plenty of times that I slammed my door as a teen, thinking that would show my parents how angry I was. And I know that my parents still loved me through it, but now I know how they must have felt on the other side of that door.
As I write this, I’m sitting at the close of a truly awful parenting day. The day started out pleasant enough, but as it wore on, my daughters pressed every button there was in the handbook. As we were starting the bedtime routine, I even said to Sam that I felt like a soldier coming back from the battlefield: worn out, mind-numbed, and ready to fall into bed and straight into a deep, dreamless sleep.
On days like this, where everything feels upside down, off the rails, and a slow push to bedtime, I have to think to myself: What is God possibly trying to teach me in this moment? If, according to the Bible, I’m not supposed to drive them to anger then how is they can drive me to the absolute brink?
I think the cop-out, easy answer is that He’s trying to grow my patience. As a mom of two toddlers, I pretty much think that’s an ongoing lesson, no matter the day. Of course, He’s trying to stretch my ability to roll with the punches; to be flexible and long-suffering. But I think every parent realizes that raising a child is going to be a test of patience. That’s pretty much a given.
I think more strongly, though, on especially trying, frustrating days like this, God is asking me to lean on Him. He’s creating a situation where I can’t do anything but turn to Him to be sustained and held upright. He’s asking me to put my whole self in Him, because in my flesh, I want to allow my anger towards my kids to go completely unchecked.
Without the Lord, things can be so much worse. When we’re being driven up the wall, without the Holy Spirit to catch us in our irritation and redirect us, we have the ability to do some real damage to those around us. For me, it’s my kids. For you, it could be coworkers, friends, or a significant other. Alone, we have no ability to check ourselves, curb our anger, or react outside our flesh.
Only the Lord has the ability to grab our sinful nature by the back of the neck and press us into His steadfast peace.
And when it comes to kids, we sow what we reap– and I need to hear this too. If we lash out in anger towards them, they learn that this is what we do when we’re overwhelmed or frustrated. If we sow scorn in our households, then we will inevitably reap it from the little people we’re trying to raise. If we allow our flesh to go unchecked in our homes as adults, it shouldn’t surprise us when our kids can’t control it themselves.
And I realize that the age-old “you reap what you sow” idea is all-encompassing when it comes to our lives. It reaches into every avenue of it. But the home is one of the biggest places where this principle is on display, and it’s the one that often goes unattended. The home is where we are most unguarded– in a way that we aren’t when we’re at school, work, or church. It’s the place where we either bear the most fruit or cause the most grief.
So it’s evermore important that we make sure that what we say we believe– what we want to see the Lord do in our lives– is all the more on display at home. That doesn’t mean that there will never again be a day where your kids don’t act up or your spouse comes home in a mood. What it does mean is that sowing more of God’s Spirit in your home– more scripture, more prayer, and more God-honoring, flesh-extinguishing behaviors– will reap more peace, encouragement, and righteousness.
Dear God,
Help me to sow into my home more of what I want to reap. Help me to realize my frustrations and angers more often, and help me to bridle them with Your Spirit. When my children grow up, I pray they remember a mother who was always at Your feet. Teach me to quell the emotions and reactions of my flesh and help me to put on more of your righteousness, allowing it to trickle down to my kids. Help me to raise them to recognize and desire more of your Word and your presence, and help me to be a better fruit-bearer in my household.
IJNWP,
Amen.
