Lessons from Little Hearts

The other day there was a loud and unwelcomed noise from the living room. I immediately thought I knew who the culprit was and headed in that direction already handing out a rebuke. On arriving at said disaster I found that I was completely wrong in my assumption of guilt. I was then faced with a decision, should I turn and rebuke the one who broke the rules, or should I apologise for my misguided discipline? It is so easy, as a mother of mischievous toddlers, to just turn and continue on with the punishment/consequences part of life. I get so caught up in making them mind, in correcting their errors that I fail to correct mine. My sin is perhaps the more damaging in this instance. I, with the weighty task of raising my children, often put greater emphasis on correcting them. I am not as gracious as I should be and I am not the best a setting a good example of the love of my amazing God. So I have begun the long road of change. The other day, instead of turning to punish I stopped to apologise. I want my children to know that I can recognise when I have been wrong, I want to show them the value of an apology, I want them to learn to forgive when it is still easy for them. I am by no means saying that I apologise every time I should, or even that I am aware of every time I sin against my children. I am just dedicating myself to making more of an effort to show them the love of Christ, who stands in the gap for me and forgives me at every turn. I don’t want my children to grow up thinking that I will never fail them. I don’t want them to look to me as the perfect example they should follow. I want them to see that I fail, that I fall, and that I know I am not perfect. I know that I will have plenty of opportunity to correct my children, I know that I gave my parents plenty of opportunity to correct my behaviour. If, however, I don’t start myself on the road of example setting now, it will be much harder to find an on-ramp in the future. Not only do I want my children to see that I know when I am wrong, I want them to know why it is so important to apologise and ask forgiveness. I want to be able to tell them why forgiveness is such an amazing gift, I want them to know what it cost for them to be able to receive such a gift from the One who gave them life. I want them to know that failure and falling is ok, as long as we take the time to see failure as an opportunity to grow and to receive grace. I know that there are many times the Father has forgiven me, many times when His son has bridged the divide of sin so that I may been seen as clean. I want my children to know how important that is. I want them to know that no matter how many times they fail, no matter how many times I fail them, they will always be able to ask for a hand up again, they will always have someone on their side cheering. I am going to fail them in so many ways, I will never be the perfect mother, but by showing them that I know I am imperfect I might have a better chance of leading them to the One who is. I want to seize every opportunity I have to display the love of Christ to my children. I only have them with me for a short time, and the time in which they will actually listen is even shorter, I want to make the most of every minute. The one failure I would have a hard time forgiving in myself would be a failure to show my children the Keeper of my heart. The gifts I have been given in the little hearts I hold are greater than anything else in the world. As a mother my job is greater than anything else I do. Regardless of how much time I have with my children, I am charged and called to not only teach with words, but greater still to teach with action. I pray, earnestly and pleadingly, that I will rise to the occasion, that my God will meet me where I am and give me the patience and strength and endurance I need to be the example I should be. I am learning, from the little ones I am with every day, that I can only be better with the help of my Lord, I can only be what I should be if I have the Alpha and Omega on my side. On my own I will fail epically every time. With God, I have a much better chance of showing my children the deepest desire of my heart. May I always work with God to be the mother I should be that my children will know their true Father.