All I Can Say Is Wow

Sometimes the only thing that can come from a mother is the uttering of "WOW". It's those moments when our children surprise us. Sometimes that is a really proud "WOW" other times you are astonished at how ridiculous something was and you are left with a much less enthusiastic "wow". (The latter is generally accompanied by an eye roll or heavy sigh.)

In Proverbs 22:6 we are told that if we train up our children in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. Let me be the first to say, we did not do a great job of that. It has only been in the last two years that we have been committed to our God, a regular church and our faith. I have seen a ripple effect with my sons. One of them swore he would never go back to church and he is there almost every Sunday. Another joins us from time to time, he does not live with us. The youngest though has really surprised me and given me an amazing "WOW" moment.

Our church began a 21 day corporate fast on January 1. My husband and I had committed to participating. There are a few different ways to participate: 1. Fast on selected days, 2. Fast from 6 AM to 6 PM, and finally the full 21 day fast. My youngest son is a healthy, active 18 year old with an appetite that doesn't stop. He told me he was going to fast. I assumed it would be 6 AM to 6 PM. Here is my "WOW" moment.

At 18 years of age, my son is on his second day of full fasting. One of his friends is fasting with him. He shared with me that they did devotion together today and prayed. He told me he started feeling a little hungry and a prayer was already rolling through his head. I am 42 years old and until 2 years ago thought fasting was something for extremist, zealots, and people hunger striking. I cannot image the impact learning this at a young age would have had on my life. My son is learning. He is leaning in, when he could very easily walk an easier path.

Never Too Late

Not long ago, I almost fired off a frustrated message to my Pastor. He had been talking about family and bring your children up right. We hear it all the time in the church, but for some reason it was really eating at me. "What if I am too late? My kids are grown, I trained them up and they do not have a foundation of faith." Let me tell you, that thought process will cripple a parent trying to grow in faith. You start blaming yourself for the choices they have made and the every mistake that happens.

After the last couple of days, I am really happy I did not fire off that message to Pastor. I am certain he would have reached out and given me Godly, compassionate direction, but at that moment - I wanted absolution, not compassion. The first step after turning over the situation to God is forgiving yourself. You know the saying "let go and let God", that is basically what it is. We have to forgive our bad decisions, wrong choices, and blatant disobedience. What gives you the right to constantly condemn yourself if you have been forgiven by God?

Humanity makes us pretty arrogant at times. I think those of us with excessive education or life experience fall pray to it even easier...because we "know better". We do not know better than our Heavenly Father. I have been praying about my sons for the last two years. I am seeing the fruit of those prayers. Many times, I could not be the person to bring them to the next level...it had to be someone else. It was the same for me and my parents. 

Keep Training

In retrospect, we never stop training our children. My parents still give me guidance and direction. I still grow from lessons displayed in the lives of my grandparents. No, I did not train my boys as young children, but they see a different me now. Just as they watched me struggle and achieve my educational goals, they now see me working toward a more grounded faith...on much, much higher ground.

Pray. Pray fervently for your family. It changes things. Devon may well go eat a whole pizza tomorrow, but he fasted yesterday and today. He did not complain. (Although I think he killed my Keurig making Chia Teas.) My son will reap the spiritual benefits of his experience. As a parent, I am putting the last two days squarely in the win column.