DO YOUR KIDS A FAVOR - TELL THEM WHO THEIR FATHER IS.

I know a young mother who gave birth to a daughter without being married to her father.  He was married.  But not to her.  For years the single mother raised her daughter without him, or his help, or his support.   The little girl?   She was, physically, the spitting image of her father.  You looked at her -  you saw her father.  You KNEW who her daddy was.

For the young mommy, things were not easy, but she loved that little girl.   This little girl was the CENTER of HER WORLD.  They did everything together.  When the little girl started school, her mother's world was shaken.  Her father came looking for her.  Her father wanted to be involved in her life.  Her father wanted his child to know him.  Her father wanted to be her father.  In every way.  He wanted to know her.  He wanted her to know him. Reasonable expectation.

But...the mother was resistant.  This was an intrusion. For weeks, she ignored his calls and letters.  "I'm the only one she needs", is what mommy said.  That changed the day the little girl came home from school and said, "Mom, why don't I have a daddy?  Where's my daddy?"

Evidently, mommy was wrong.  She was NOT the only one her daughter needed.  A few court appearances later and daddy was in her life.  He made up, financially, for all the years he had been absent. Over the years, her mom and dad (and dad's wife) all worked together to give the child a life that was transparent about her true identity. Through the years, it wasn't easy for Mom to wave goodbye every other weekend but she knew she did the right thing for her daughter.   And on the day the little girl left for college, her mom and her dad and his wife all waved goodbye to a teenager who grew up .  knowing her true identity. Finding who she was intended to be. 

You may think it's because the mommy "did the right thing." 
TRUTH IS....she had no choice.  She did what she was forced, by law, to do.  She had no right to keep a searching father away from his child.  Her daughter did not belong JUST to her.  Her daughter had a daddy.  And the daughter.. wanted to know him.

Nice story.  So what?

Your children have a Heavenly Father who is searching for them.  He wants them to know their TRUE identity... He wants them to know the heritage they could have as His children.  He wants them to know the PLANS HE HAS FOR THEM. He wants to know that they know Him.  And your child... will want to seek Him out.  Will want to know Him.  Sounds reasonable.

• You have no right to keep Him away from His child. 
• You have no right to make believe He isn't real. 
• You cannot act like He doesn't exist. 

Because He does exist.  And He has a right to your child. And your child's future..
And BY HIS LAW... which is THE LAW ABOVE ALL LAWS - a parent's most important job is to be sure.. BE SURE....they find the Heavenly Father who is searching for them. 
There is no higher call.    There is no higher goal.  

You may think that going to church on Sunday mornings is the end of your obligation to this OTHER Father... but... how can I say this?  What are the words?  uHHHHhhhhhh...

You are wrong.  

Unlike an earthly father....God is not going to accept an every-other-weekend joint custody with you.... when it comes to HIS OWNERSHIP of YOUR KIDS.  He alone is God.  He alone is Their Creator. He. Alone.  Step back.  Acknowledge His ownership of YOUR children.

He says to your child, "I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU."

HIS PLAN for YOUR KID'S LIFE TRUMPS YOUR PLANS FOR YOUR KIDS LIFE.  
What?
Yup.
HIS PLAN -  for YOUR KID'S LIFE -  TRUMPS YOUR PLANS FOR YOUR KIDS LIFE. 

I would venture to say that the reason so many children..
so many..
of our wonderful children are despondent and depressed and disillusioned stems from the root ----

that parents are NOT leading their children to FIND and SEEK and KNOW ONE THING... and ONE THING ONLY  -    

God's plan for their lives. 

• You may want a football scholarship ... but God may want a missionary

• You may want a doctor... but God may want a pastor.

• You may want a  corporate vice president.. but God may want a non-profit worker.

GOD FORMED YOUR CHILD WHILE IN YOUR WOMB. 
GOD knew THEN what HIS PLANS WERE GOING TO BE.
Have you done YOUR BEST to have your child FOCUS on GOD'S WILL?
Whatever it may be. 

Do you encourage God's will.. no matter what?
Do you feel like that single mom who thought she was all her kid needed?

What is YOUR REAL measure of success when it comes to your children?
Do you HONESTLY want God to USE THEM for HIS GLORY - even if they don't "look" successful by the standards of society?

Savings accounts, college degrees, doctorates and diplomas may bring your children treasures here.... true... but they are temporary treasures... they will fade away.  What your child needs is NEW LIFE.  A plan to ESCAPE eternal DEATH.  Does that even matter to you?
It should.
It matters to God.
  
IN ORDER TO KNOW THE PLAN - YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE GOD WHO HAS IT. 
You need to know God.
Your kid needs to know God.

Your main goal - as a parent - according to the ONE who made you and your kids.. is to get them to Focus on Their Father Which Art In Heaven.
And if HE isn't YOUR main goal... He won't be your kids main goal either.

And sometimes... God's plans... God's way of living... goes against the grain of the way society is behaving.  I wonder about parents who - afraid to lose their kids here by standing true to God and His Word - are willing to lose them forever.  A kid without God is a kid without a future.  Here.  Or There.
 
OOoops.....What to do? What to do?
The only thing worse than making a mistake yesterday is thinking you cannot fix it today. 

So today... Tell them who their Father is.  If they are 7 years old or 17 or 27.
Call them. Sit them down. Readjust your focus.

Today... say something like... "Knowing God... is the most important thing you can ever know. And I want to say that I didn't always make GOD - and knowing Him - the main focus of our family's life.  I didn't always make Jesus be the Champion you should have tried to emulate. The Example you should follow.  I didn't always make seeking God's will for your life the most important quest in life. I was wrong. Please forgive me.  Let's change our focus.  As a family."
...or...whatever words come from your heart.

Repentance simply means turning and going in the opposite direction.

Are you still a good parent if you haven't taught your children that eternity is more important than anything that happens here?   Hmmmmmmm... What do you think?

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Love you,
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XO,
Mrs. Older