Dear Believer, 

Whether you are a parent, guardian, caregiver, or grandparent, you know having a teenager in your life can be a mixture of joy and concern, pride and fear. They are in a fantastic part of their lives where we, as their caring adults, have a front row seat. They are blossoming into the adults God has designed them to be. They are busy balancing social events, school responsibilities, and family life. Their physical bodies are changing inside and out and their emotions are on a triple loop-di-loop roller coaster ride. Lots going on, isn’t there? Just writing it all out brings me back to a filed-away part of my life. But it is good to remember what it was like for us. I mean the reality of it and not the embellished or the glossed-over version?. For some, it was fun and carefree. But for all, there were some hard times. 

As a parent of two teenagers, I am definitely in the midst of it. And as a Christian parent, I feel the burden of “training up my children in the way they should go” and “bringing them up in the discipline and admonition of the LORD”. Do you feel that pressure too? Do you also feel the frustration when all your training and admonitions seem to fall on deaf ears or are returned with an “mmm-hmm”? Or do you feel the hurt of your child’s outright rejection of the faith? Have you experienced discouragement when the realm of your child’s spiritual life seems like an arid desert or unfertile orchard, despite all your best efforts? These scenarios are very real. But be encouraged, dear Believer! Our hope is in the LORD! The Maker of heaven and earth has also known your child, formed your child, and set him or her apart (Jer.1:4-9) for a purpose to bring Him glory. 

With the countless parenting books, blogs and resources that are out there (and I have read a few!), it all boils down to three things. 

• Teach. Our job and our responsibility are to “impress [God’s commandments] on our children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deut. 6:6-7). In other words, influence, inspire, teach, fix deeply an idea in, ingrain, and imprint God’s Word, consistently and constantly. Why? Because just like a constant dripping of water can eventually crack a hard boulder in two and like it can create a new path over time to where it needs to go, God’s Word makes an impact. 

“The fall of dropping water wears away the stone” Lucretius

“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Heb. 4:12

“God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s heart, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live.” Deut. 30:6 (MSG)

“Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; He directs it to whatever ends he chooses.” Prov. 21:1 (MSG)

• Trust. Honestly, this has been and continues to be a hard one for many of us parents. When things feel hopeless, dry, and stagnate, we wonder, ‘What am I doing wrong?’, ‘Should I be doing more?’ Can my child be considering leaving the faith?’ Because we cannot read our child’s mind and know the depths of their soul, we base our doubts on what we can see or what we can’t see. This, dear Believer, is when you have to remember who your God is. Who is the God of your child? Of your family? He is the Faithful and True One (Rev.21:5), the One who gently leads those that have young. (Is. 40:11). The Good Shephard, whose lovingkindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations. (John 10:11, Psalm 100:1) 

This is the God we have. He is worthy of all of our trust. Our children are our most treasured gifts, aren’t they? They are even more so to our Heavenly Father. The LORD reminds us in Luke, ‘Why, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows’ (12:7).

• Pray. Everything we do in regard to our God-given parental responsibility must be saturated in prayer. Saturated, doused, covered, submerged, and engulfed in prayer. Before, during, and forever until the Lord takes us home. Because our children will always be our children. We will always have something to pray for our children- protection, good choices, salvation, their spouses, honoring the LORD, etc. We are to lift them up to the Lord daily and continually (1 Thess. 5:16-18). This will help us to release them to God and give our anxieties about them to Him (Phil. 4:6-7).

It is hard not to worry about our children when our biggest hope and joy is to hear and know that they are walking in the truth (3 John 1:4). But, we are to entrust them to the most loving Parent they can have. And trust He will guard, guide, and fulfill all He has purposed for them. 

So, be encouraged, dear Believer. You are not alone. Almighty God has given you a task, but He is the Overseer. He will help you every step of the way. He has equipped you for every good work and His divine power has been granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (Heb.13:21, 2 Pet.1:3). Your children are your most beautiful mission field. And you are to make disciples of them. So, do not give up and do not stop teaching, trusting, and praying for your child. 

“Do not worry. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Matt. 6:26-34

“Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Gal. 6:9

I am at the tail end of the teenage years with one of my children. I can tell you that I am seeing the fruits of my labor and the faithfulness of God (Stay tuned for the upcoming blog). He is good and He is in control. Let me leave you with His words from Isaiah 26:3,

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

The Lord bless you and keep you in His perfect peace, 

Bianca