Published by Deborah Negron – Child, Servant, Colaborer of God.
February 13, 2023
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Philippians 4:13
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
Psalms 139:1-6, 13-17
The Process begins…
The ultrasound shows the little one being formed in the womb.
Oh, the excitement. Oh the wonder. Oh the concern.
Oh the myriad of thoughts that come.
The thoughts will depend greatly on how this conception came to be.
Whom the Father is will either bring joy and happiness or sorrow and regret.
The issue at hand is that now, inside, there is a living being. There is a little one who is being designed to have parts from both parents. The genetic make up is particualr, unique and designed by God.
We come to be parents in the best of times and in the worst of times.
The most important concern is then, this child that will be born must be cared for, instructed, nurtured and raised.
This child must be guided and guarded.
While they are little it is easy to guard them. We place door guards and gates. We have locks and crib bumpers. We have baby walkers, and carriages. We buy car seats and we baby proof our homes.
This is the easy part.
Choosing whether to breast feed or to give them a bottle or both. These are decisions that we make along the way.
Yet, the most important role is how we must impart a moral compass. We must teach self regulation. We must modify behavior and curb negative inclinations. We must teach them to be able to live within a community and interact with others in positive and constructive ways.
Our children learn from us more in their early years than they will throughout the course of their lives.
The Bible teaches us to teach them when they rise up.
Their morning routine. Their washing of their bodies and their teeth comes early. Their hygiene, an essential part of upbringing, in order to promote good health and self care.
The Bible says to teach them when you sit at a table.
The family time, eating together, healthy eating habits. Manners on how we sit, how we wait for others, at the table. How we pass the food and share. How we learn to be considerate for others. How we discuss important matters and communicate happens at the table.
The Bible teaches us to instruct them in the way. Yes, as we walk out, as we look around us. We can teach them to observe nature. To consider the skies. To look at how amazing God’s creation is and how everything has a purpose and a plan. As we walk in the way, may be as we take a hike. Or it may be as we stroll on the beach. It may be as we drive them to school. Here we set the standard on how they will learn to see God in their surroundings.
The fact that they come back to the table gives us the opportunity to recap the day. Discuss how the Lord was good throughout their day. Or it may be a time where we learn of their shortcomings or their needs. Whether their day in school was a good day or whether they are being bullied or acosted.
We have been given the plan book for how we are to teach and communicate, clearly in God’s word.
Then we come to bedtime. The days end, when we wrap up the happenings of the day and commit our lives to God once again as we are ready to rest.
There at that bedside we embrace them. We assure them that God is still in control. We teach them of how much God loves them and how they are precious in his sight.
We may read them a bedtime story and a bedtime Psalm.
We remind them that the Lord has kept them all the day long and is able to keep them throughout their lives.
Scripture defines clearly our roles. We often get busy. We place them in many activities. We want to ensure they have everything we may have lacked. We worry that they may be lacking in some way. Or we have goven them so much that we assume they are well.
But the role of the parent is lifelong. It is a lifetime of not only teaching them, but growing with them. We grow as people. We come to see God’s plan for our future as we see our children grow.
The kind of people they become and how they will make life decisions and how they will treat others. All of this comes from how we raise them when they are yet so small.
Egocentric and rude or kind and compassionate. Selfish and controlling or concerned for the welfare of their fellowman.
Responsive and intentionally commited to doing what is right or manipulative and demanding.
All these issues are met at that table, on that morning routine and as we walk in life and teach them how to rest in God.
Too often, we are consumed with the many material things they need. All the while, missing opportunities to instruct, guide and lead them toward righteousness.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all. A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished. By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:1-6
As parents we fail. We may not always get things right. But the Word we have taught our children will not return void. It is able to guide them through life.
In their adulthood, we continue to experience moments where we help guide them. But, we also, have moments where we then learn from them; for when they are formed in Christ, they become not just our children but also, our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Oh the riches of knowing and understanding God’s Word are lifelong and beneficial to us and to our offspring.
The Lord bless every parent. The Lord bless every person who has a child in the womb.
For those who perhaps did not know the Lord and did not have this knowledge, we find that the Word of God shows us the mercy snf grace of God too.
We may not have started off on the right path. But the Lord is able to teach us. He is able to show us the love of the Father in His Word. Then we can in turn demonstrate his los love to our grown children. He is able to transform us as adults in such a way that He redeems the time lost. We are all imperfect beings but He remains a perfect Father. He is able to right our wrongs and give us new life in and through JESUS our Lord.
I know families who came to Christ later in life and the Lord has brought them the wisdom of heaven.
He can take the brokenness and the weary life, the time which may have begun with undersrsnding and he can bring hope, peace and joy.
I have seen lives transformed because of God’s Word.
The amplified Bible puts it thid way…
All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man or woman of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Life and Faith By Deb 
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