I have had the privilege of being a mother for a little over 15 years. 

I call it a privilege because there are days when I question my parenting skills and I wonder why my children’s Creator found me fit and capable enough for that kind of responsibility! He honoured me by giving me, not one or two of His precious creatures, but four of them to take care of, to nurture, train and raise them! That’s like being in charge of four nations! 

Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing it right or if I am doing it at all. I think about my personality and my temperament and I compare it to who I feel an ideal mother should be. In my quiet moments, I would sit and go over my conversations, my actions and reactions towards my children; I would ask myself questions like, 

Do they trust me enough to always confide me?

Do they feel loved by me? 

Do they feel comfortable around me? 

Do they look forward to being around me? 

Do they even listen to me?

Or

Do they see me as ‘Mom, the Terrorist’? 

A few months ago, I was making dinner for everyone. Our 4-year old had requested for a particular meal (I cannot remember what it was) and after he was done eating, he walked up to me and said, 

“Mom, I’m so proud of you; so proud of you for making this for me.”

My heart melted. I’m not sure if he understood what he was saying and how valuable those words were, but I didn’t dismiss it as another ‘baby talk’. I took it in, meditated on it and hid it somewhere safe in my heart because I know it will come in handy one day. 

As if that wasn’t enough, a few days later,on a Monday morning, I was signing in to work (my day job is remote) when I saw a sticky-note on my laptop from my 15yr old daughter. She wrote, 

“Hey Mommy, I love you soooooo much! Hope you have a great, amazing, productive day!” 

A tear dropped. The weekend had been a rough one for me so I needed a booster to start my week. My daughter’s note became the booster. Her words reminded me that, even though it looked like I wasn’t checking off on other things, I was getting this one thing right. Parenting! My head felt light immediately! I was fired up to work, even put in extra hours if necessary! 

PARENTING!

It is one of those responsibilities that some of us have accepted without any formal training. We learn on-the-go and sometimes, we would have failed over and over again before we finally figure it out. 

One thing that is always on my mind as a parent is the desire to raise my children right and as I watch them grow daily, I am more conscious of and intentional about the strategies I use to achieve this goal. 

I had a conversation with my elder sister recently and as we talked, she made me realise how important it is, especially as a Christian, to focus more on raising children who know and understand the depth of God’s love for them; not just raising them to be experts at having good morals without exposing them to God’s love. 

As we spoke, I pictured God, our heavenly Father, and how He exemplifies what parenting should be like. I think about how;

• He knows everything about us. We know, from the Bible, that He knew us while we were being formed in the womb. 
• He pays attention to us. King David, in the Bible, said that God is mindful of us. 
• He meets our needs. One of the apostles of old, Paul, said that God supplies our needs according to His glorious riches.
• He stays with us, through the good and the bad. God Himself said He will never leave us nor forsake us. 
• He disciplines us with a heart of love. King Solomon said that God corrects those He loves.

As I reflected on these truths, I made a decision to drop everything that I thought I knew about parenting and to adopt God’s parenting principles and strategies because I believe they are perfect. I know they will yield positive results and help me achieve my goal to raise my children right. 

I encourage you, as a parent, to do the same and who knows, someday, we may have the opportunity to share our journeys and thank God together for how our children turned out! 

God will help us. Amen.