The Joy Of Training Your Children

Several decades ago, I was in a room full of older women listening to a speaker.  She gave us three character traits that mothers should first possess when raising their children.  I excitedly wrote them down (conveniently highlighted for you below) and as I focused on these three traits, I began to pray that I would become a woman of diligence in areas I needed to learn.  

I’d like to share with you my thoughts on the joy that can come of training your children to listen to your voice, essentially preparing them to hear God’s voice as they grow.  We do not train based on the results we think we are going to get from it, but because God simply commands us as parents to be teachers of our children and to use our homes and everyday lives as the training ground.

The greatest command is to love.  

“If we have not love, it’s done in vain.”  

“Love cast out all fear.”  

“Love the Lord thy God.”  

“Love shall cover a multitude of sins.”

“We love Him because He first loved us.”

I could go on all day with this word!  If love is our motivator behind everything we do, our children can catch every day glimpses of how much God loves each one of them, that they are a gift to our family, and that they understand their value to be priceless.

Joy:  In those first few years of my motherhood journey, a respectable mother of several children walked up to me with a big smile while my 1-year-old was toddling around.  Her little dress and big hair bow matched her fun personality as she caught the attention of this lovely mom.  She bent down and looked into the eyes of my baby, and with such love in her voice, asked me what her name was.  After we got caught up on each other’s lives, and because I never want to miss an opportunity to ask this question to every veteran mommy, I asked her, “What is the best piece of advice you give a lot of to other mommies?”  

She said, “Choose joy every day even when we don’t feel like it.  Our children will never want to serve the Lord if we don’t.”  

I revisit that conversation often.  God used her words as a reminder that joy is a daily choice, not something that comes so easily to most, so it must be something that is daily cultivated within ourselves first.  

Meekness:  Jesus asks of us to be meek like Him.  Enough said, right?  If we don’t have a willing spirit to put this into practice, we will fail miserably in our own pride.  

When God says He gives grace to the humble, how can we go wrong taking the humble stance when we fail in our short comings?  

Short answer: we cannot go wrong.  It is right every time.  Promise.