After the reality had set in that my wife and I were going to become parents for the first time we put in some serious time trying to get ready. We read books. We asked questions. We took notes and prepared everything so that we would be ready. But the more people I talked to the more I heard, “You’re never fully ready to be a parent”.
It seemed odd that this phrase would keep popping up over and over again. I was confident that we were ahead of the curve and would be fully prepared once our baby made his debut. At the time I shrugged off the idea and believed that it didn’t apply to us, but there may not have been a more true statement shared with us about parenting. You are never fully ready.
If your experience has been anything like mine, then you know what it’s like to experience some parenting moments where you feel like you’re flying blind. Sure you’ve read some books and heard your friends tell some stories, but it’s different when it’s you and your kind going through a difficult situation or phase. We often feel less than equipped to navigate the realities and practicalities of parenting.
While it may be true that you’re never fully ready, the great news is that when it comes to parenting God hasn’t left us on an island. After reading plenty of books on the topic, I have found that more times than not I already had the best resource for being a great parent. God’s word – the Bible – is a wealthy source of knowledge not just on parenting but on what it looks like to live your best life.
Paul writing to his friend Timothy said this, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
In my experience, I have found these words to be so true. Through God’s inspired words in scripture, I have had new life breathed into me at every season of my life, and throughout every phase of parenting. While I could google the latest statistics or strategies about how to raise my child, the best course of action, more often than not, is to turn to scripture to help it train me and my family in what it looks like to live a life that honors God.
My guess is, you probably don’t always feel ready or prepared for the situations that come your way. But God promises that we will experience training in righteousness – that is training in “right living” and that we will be ready for the good work – the kingdom work – that God puts in front of us. And I can think of no greater kingdom work for your life than raising your children to find and follow Jesus.
When parenting gets hard many of us will turn to any number of solutions, but the best solution is to turn our hearts and minds to God’s word found in the scriptures. When we regularly root ourselves in scripture we receive the best kind of training for raising the next generation.
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