The family was ordained of God that children might be trained up for himself; it was before the church, or rather the first form of the church on earth. Pope Leo XIII
Yesterday, as I was rushing to leave the house with the girls, Anna was whining and not getting ready to go. I was frustrated and snapped at her. She looked at me then bowed her head and prayed "Dear God, Thank you for mommy to be happy and not to scream at me". I immediately stopped in my hurried tracks. My heart and mood softened in an instant. While I hadn't exactly screamed at her, I had raised my voice and spoken in an unnecessarily harsh tone. I had hurt her little heart and she knew I needed prayer in that moment. I hugged her, thanked her, apologized to her and let her know that God heard her prayer because I was so happy now! Later, when we were in the car she said "Mommy, you are much better happy!". :)
The exchange was both a parenting low and high for me. The low - I was deeply convicted about my attitude and treatment of my sweet child. I'm sure the next time I begin to feel tense and upset with Anna, I will remember her prayer. The high - I was so encouraged by her response. I thought to myself that through the time I am investing in being with her, she really is learning from me and I have a role in shaping her heart to depend on God.
Earlier in the week I attended a women's fellowship time at my church and the lady who spoke is a mom of five children. One of the things she said that left an impression on me was that they were "a little church together". What a picture of a mom and her kids going about their daily routine of running errands, eating meals, doing chores, playing, and reading books - together - as a little church. Loving one another, encouraging one another, praying for one another. Later in the week, I started reading a biography of Rich Mullins and read the quote at the beginning of the post. I reflected on my incident with Anna and how she prayed for her mama...in that moment we were the Church.
Thank you God for the ways you speak and for revealing how you desire for our little family to be the Church.
Yesterday, as I was rushing to leave the house with the girls, Anna was whining and not getting ready to go. I was frustrated and snapped at her. She looked at me then bowed her head and prayed "Dear God, Thank you for mommy to be happy and not to scream at me". I immediately stopped in my hurried tracks. My heart and mood softened in an instant. While I hadn't exactly screamed at her, I had raised my voice and spoken in an unnecessarily harsh tone. I had hurt her little heart and she knew I needed prayer in that moment. I hugged her, thanked her, apologized to her and let her know that God heard her prayer because I was so happy now! Later, when we were in the car she said "Mommy, you are much better happy!". :)
The exchange was both a parenting low and high for me. The low - I was deeply convicted about my attitude and treatment of my sweet child. I'm sure the next time I begin to feel tense and upset with Anna, I will remember her prayer. The high - I was so encouraged by her response. I thought to myself that through the time I am investing in being with her, she really is learning from me and I have a role in shaping her heart to depend on God.
Earlier in the week I attended a women's fellowship time at my church and the lady who spoke is a mom of five children. One of the things she said that left an impression on me was that they were "a little church together". What a picture of a mom and her kids going about their daily routine of running errands, eating meals, doing chores, playing, and reading books - together - as a little church. Loving one another, encouraging one another, praying for one another. Later in the week, I started reading a biography of Rich Mullins and read the quote at the beginning of the post. I reflected on my incident with Anna and how she prayed for her mama...in that moment we were the Church.
Thank you God for the ways you speak and for revealing how you desire for our little family to be the Church.
This is awesome Kelli...and super encouraging. Thank you for sharing. The Church is beautiful.
ReplyDeletevery touching - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteaww, what a sweetheart :)
ReplyDeleteLove this! What a great example you and Brad are exibiting for Anna (and Haven) for her to immediately resort to prayer.
ReplyDelete