March 20

Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Luke 6:37 (NIV)

As parents, the positions we hold in our childrens' lives require great discernment, wisdom and understanding.  All of which are available for the asking!  We can pray for discernment in a matter to see and know the will of God.  Speaking of wisdom, Proverbs 4:6-8 says this, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.  The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding.  Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you."  Safe to say...we need discernment, wisdom and understanding.

It's important to have this 'trio' because there will be times when we will need to forgive our children.  Yes, I said forgive!  We do ourselves a disservice when think that because we are the 'adult' things don't affect us when inflicted from our children.  That deception will have you bitter towards your child and you not even realize it.  Take for example the first time your child betrayed your trust with a lie...as my mother would say, 'a bold face lie'.  He/she stood right in your face and denied breaking that vase; refused to confess to eating that cookie even though the crumbs were still evident on their face; claimed ignorance when asked about his/her behavior when you got the phone call from the teacher.  In all these instances, after the initial frustration and disappointment, betrayal of trust may not have been addressed although it was definitely the elephant in the room.  It is important for children to know and realize that as parents we are still human and we have feelings!  Our children should know that the things they do not only affect them, but they also affect us because we love them so much.  

We are called to forgive, just as God forgives us.  We may not even realize it because we don't want to admit the hurt or we discount our feelings as immature...NOT SO!  I'm here to tell you,  unforgiveness towards our children for the smallest untruth, to the most significant act of rebellion is something that we cannot ignore.  Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Heavenly Father, once again You've shown us that we have a lot of growing up to do!  As our Father and Creator, You know all about us...the good, the bad and the not so pretty.  Thank you for reminding us that just as You have forgiven us, Your children; we too must forgive our children.  Show us the issues that we hold onto, maybe because they represent a greater sin within ourselves, that we need to forgive.  Teach us how to forgive and give us the ability to forget, in spite of our human inclination to suppress, rather than suspend from our mind the offense.  Reveal to us, when we should ask our children to forgive us, for we will undoubtedly hurt them  as well.  If we have been forgiveness, we cannot withhold forgiveness!  Thank you for another chance to get it right.  In Jesus name, Amen!