Ephesians 6: 1-4
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
4 Fathers,[b] do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
I remember memorizing these verses at a young age. They resonated in my mind and heart when I would upset my parents. I wanted to follow this commandment perfectly but not succeeding always because I am not perfect. As I grew older I realized it was not just doing what my parents asked but honoring them completely. To me this meant honoring their efforts to raise me in the Lord's way, honoring their hard work so that I would not go hungry, it meant serving them in whichever area I could-like helping with cooking dinner etc. It meant not talking back, it meant listening when I did not want to, it meant sharing with them my future plans even when I was away in college.
I believe that the Lord honored that and will show me and guide me now that I am a parent so that our little guy will understand what this verse means for himself.
I was at the store I believe the day we were reading this chapter and heard a little boy asking his mother for a toy. What I heard coming out of that Mother's mouth broke my heart. She began cussing at him and telling him to stop asking her for stuff and to put his arm in the cart before she broke it.
I thanked the Lord for my parents and their desire to instruct me in God's way trying not to exasperate us or provoke us to anger.
Parenting now a days seems very different than when I was little. When I found out I was pregnant I prayed for the Lord to show us through his word how to raise our child. I confessed to the Lord that I was fearful in this world where children no longer honor their parents and parents no longer rear their children according to his commandments. He gave me peace and he told me like he did Elijah there are more that still want to raise their children according to the word of God.
We found these resources and we are excited about parenting!
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