Parenting

I remember when I first learned that Mother’s Day can be the most painful date on the calendar for those still waiting to be mothers. A dear friend who had waited years to become pregnant received the devastating news that her baby had died in utero. When I visited her in the hospital, I was horrified to find her in the maternity ward, surrounded by mothers and babies. While other women cradled their newborns in their arms, my friend lay alone.

We can comfort our kids with words and actions, encouraging them to fix their eyes on Jesus, who endured pain of every kind “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV). And then we hand off to them the baton of hope that joy is set before them, too.

Childrearing is a difficult task. I am convinced that we do not have a black-and-white parenting guide for each child because God wants to partner with us. He wants us to wrestle with Scripture and how it could be applied to totally different children by the same parents.

Even when our kids are grown, they still need us to notice them. Here are 10 things your adult children hope you will see in them. Your son or daughter asks you to:

Remember, our children watch what we do more than they listen to what we say. Live a reflection of who you want your children to be.

We must be honest with our children and teach them that the devil and his demons are in fact a reality. Teaching your children these lessons and practical tools will equip them as the reckon with and eventually face spiritual warfare.