published: Sunday, November 18, 2012

The peace of our children

Parents who love their children are eager to provide all the necessities of life.

They seek to fulfill their wants and desires, too. They give love unconditionally.

I remember the years of single parenting. Oh how my heart beat with a desire to assure my son of my love, devotion and constancy.

Every good thing I knew I wanted to teach him.

I recall a conversation years later when he was on break from college. I said, "You had to learn to do without a lot of things during those years. But, you learned delayed gratification and that waiting is a good thing when done right."

His head shot up and he said, "Do without what?"

I explained how I couldn't always give him his desires. I reminded him of how we'd have looking days at the toy store with the hope of a birthday or Christmas gift one day.

He looked me in the eye and said, "I don't remember doing without. Thank you, Mom. I wouldn't want to change anything you did."

Could I have received any greater gift?

And, yet, all around us today we see parents breaking their backs to give gifts to their children that are beyond their means; working long hours, going into debt and feeling guilty to boot...while attitudes of entitlement instead of gratitude are received in return.

God requires us to love our children and bring them up knowing who he is. He is the ultimate provider though he uses us in the process.

My son's words reminded me how my feelings of inadequacy turned to thanksgiving as we learned together to rely more on God.

I wanted most to instill in him an understanding of God's faithfulness, his goodness, his care of us even when things weren't just the way we wanted them to be.

I often quoted to him that God is the same yesterday, today and forever; therefore, we could count on God's sameness and dependability no matter what.

That resulted in a child who knew God's peace. And reminds me of the verse in Isaiah 54:13, NKJV, which says, "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children."

Today, I am often the recipient of my grown son's love and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and how it touches my life.

This Thanksgiving I praise God for his everlasting peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Selah

Jan Merop of Sebring is a News-Sun correspondent.