Two of my best girlfriends came into town this past weekend. Before they arrived, I was anxious. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see them. I was nervous about how my children might behave in front of them while they were in town.
What if she throws a tantrum in front of them?
What if he disobeys me over and over in front of them?
What if they fight and push?
What if their screeches and squeals hurt their ears?
What if my friends think my children are rowdy?
On and on my mind swirled. I struggle with people pleasing and with the fear of becoming “that mom.” My desire for perfectly behaved children reared its unrealistic head once again.
The truth is- we Steels are a lively family. My husband, children, and I are highly energetic and loud. You can hear all four of us coming from miles away. It’s just how it is.
However, as I reflect on this past weekend, and on how my children actually behaved, I was reminded of this conversation between Jesus and His disciples:
“Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ ”
~Matthew 19:13-14 NIV
My attitude towards my children often mirrors that of the disciples. They didn’t want Jesus to be bothered by children. They probably assumed the noise and commotion would distract and delay Him from doing what was important.
Jesus thought the opposite. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to little children- including the lively ones.
How often do I think my children will distract or frustrate those around me with their curiosity or commotion?
All
of
the
time.
I compare, and I assume that everyone else’s children are better behaved than mine. So I become frustrated, and I hinder my children with words that could crush their spirits.
I need to stop hindering what Jesus welcomes with open arms.
My children need to be allowed to be children. Wiggles, squeals, curiosity and all… I need to let them be. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
image courtesy of Ashley Cox/freedigitalphotos.net
No matter their personality, children are a gift from God. Because of this, my mama’s heart is full. It isn’t because my children did not fight in front of my friends (they did) or because they were not loud and rowdy in front of them (they were).
My heart is blessed because my friends let my children “come” to them just as they were. My friends modeled for me the heart of Jesus by embracing my children, loud squeals and all. My heart is blessed because my imperfect children ministered to my friends also.
one of my favorite moments from the weekend 🙂
I pray for God to grow my children into young adults that are on fire for Him. I pray that their faith and ministries will surpass mine. What God has shown me though, is that my young children already have a ministry. God is already using them NOW. He used their lively personalities to breathe joy into the hearts of my friends.
So yes, I am glad my children are loud and imperfect. I am learning to embrace how God has wired them, and am finding continued freedom from the desire for them to behave perfectly. Certainly, there are situations where we do not allow our children to run around and scream. But in our home, they will be allowed to “come” and to be their lively selves.
To all the other mothers whose children who are loud and lively~ be encouraged. Jesus invites all children to come into His presence. He will not become distracted or delayed. His Kingdom belongs to little ones such as ours.
Do not hinder what Jesus embraces with open arms.
I am also excited to be linking up with Woman to Woman ministries today! I’d like to extend a warm welcome to those of you that are joining me from W2W.
Oh’ Yay my friend! 🙂 This is good news! We ARE growing to be more like Jesus at the same time! And thank God there is plenty of grace to go around. I’m so glad you got time with some of your girls. 🙂 AWESOME! ~ Love from Maine, Amy
Amy, you are correct-there is enough of God’s grace to cover us all (and then some!). I am thankful that He is patient with me as I continue to grow as a mother. (And yes, good girlfriends are also a gift, woot woot!)
Love this Tracy! As a mother of loud children and a children’s pastor to loud children, I love it! Jesus loves it! 🙂
Thanks for linking up with Woman to Woman’s Word Filled Wednesday friend!
Thank you for hosting the link up Jenifer! May God give you extra strength and joy as you love on the lively ones that surround you 🙂
My kids were less than stellar at Target today, but then there was this one kid…oh my gosh, so I didn’t feel so bad. Isn’t that awful?
Our kids do need to be kids. If I”m always after Luke to be quieter or settle down or to do this or that (when he’s really not hurting anything or being rude) I feel like I’m crushing his little spirit and telling him that he’s not ok. I don’t ever want to do that.
Erin- guilty and working on this with you, one day at a time. I appreciate your honesty, and I pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to speak words that breathe life into our children instead.
My 3 are LOUD I guess we all are. I often say we are a train wreck waiting to happen. All in good fun of course.
Thanks for this reminder! I’ve been parenting in front of lots of other people for a month. We are living at a YL camp while my husband is running camps with other staff. It’s been hard and I feel like my daughter is a handful. Thanks for the reminder that Jesus made her strong willed for a reason. Like it or not He will use her!
Alyssa- my friends that visited call my children “joyful” and not loud. I love it. So I know that your family is just JOYFUL too, amen? When I wrote that you can “hear us coming from miles away,” it was all in good fun too. 🙂
Beth- oh wow, living at the camp would be tough. With as much moving as we’ve gone through in the last year, I can relate. But I know that God is using you AND your little ones. You are showing the campers what a mother who needs Jesus looks like. Be encouraged my friend, I am praying for you.
“Do not hinder what Jesus embraces with open arms” What a great reminder. Thank you!
I’ve had to remind myself of this a dozen times since I posted this 🙂 Thanks for your comment Eileen and have a blessed weekend.