Reminder: Your Children Are A Gift!

Do your children know they are a gift from God? Sometimes as parents we struggle in those difficult moments when our children don't particularly feel like a gift. We say things we shouldn’t, and if we're not careful, little by little we make our children think they're a bother rather than a gift.  

This is important for us to remember as parents. It’s normal for our kids to mess up and do things we don't want them to do. That’s actually good, because we want them to have a safe place to make mistakes and learn. How we respond when they make a mistake is actually really important for them. If we respond in ways that are short and uncompassionate, we can erode the sense that they are a gift from God. We don’t want our kids to think they are a bother, annoyance, or frustration! When we respond with loving discipline, they learn and grow with the sense that they don’t want to break connection with us and believe that they are valuable. 

It makes me think of Hannah, Samuel’s mom. We find her story in 1 Samuel 1-2. She was deeply moved and cried out to God to heal her barrenness, and she was overjoyed when she finally received the child she prayed for - Samuel. Samuel’s name means ‘I was heard by God.’ It’s easy to lose sight of who God has entrusted to us in moments of frustration, but if we keep in mind how precious our children are to God, this perspective will help us as we encounter difficult moments with our kids.

I want to encourage and remind you that your children are a gift! God has trusted you to take care of your children, and He you the most precious gift He could possibly give. Even when they annoy you, they are still a gift :)

If we stay in the place of thinking of our children as a gift, it helps us steward our kids better, and we are more likely to handle parenting situations with wisdom.