Dear Children: A Letter from a Mom

I am writing this letter to my children. Perhaps your children might benefit too.

kidsread

Dear Children,

As your parents, we want you to know that we really do understand.
Your father and I have been in your shoes before. We grew up in different homes and under different circumstances. Those differences in our raising helps us to better know what challenges you face today and in the future.

God expects you to honor and obey us even though we are not perfect. Learn from our mistakes. Be respectful even when… especially when you disagree with us.

Not all children have godly parents. They need good examples to watch how a family should be. You may one day be a mentor that a child will look up to. Set a good example of love and respect. You never know who is watching your life and wanting to be like you.

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

– Ephesians 6:1-3 KJV

The Bible says to honor your parents. Give us the respect God intended you to give.

Listen to the wisdom from our years of experience. Listen as we share what God has given us to share.

Be obedient children. If you obey, life will go much better for you. You will be learning from us and will not have to make the same mistakes we have made.

You will one day soon be embarking on your own life and adventures. Soon it will be up to you to make your own decisions. You will not be able to blame your father and I for what choices you will make. It will ultimately be up to you what you do with the rest of your life.

It is hard on us as parents to see you feel bad. When you realize you are weak in an area, we have trouble pointing out what you need to work on. We want you to know right now, we love you and only want you to be the best you can be. You should strive for your highest potential.

It is okay to feel bad about the things you do wrong. We don’t always have to feel good about ourselves. We need to feel guilty at times. How else will we know we need help if we never allow ourselves to feel how terrible our mistakes are?

God can give us the ultimate help and greatest relief from our pain. If we never feel bad, we will never strive to be better. We all need to do better.

This does not mean to drag yourself in the dirt and be depressed. No. I’m saying to realize your weaknesses. Make the necessary improvements. If you do, you will be a stronger and wiser person.

There is a place for humility. It is very easy to be proud of ourselves and of our accomplishments. It is a difficult thing to remain humble. People appreciate a humble spirit.

Be willing to put others before yourself. Be slow to brag on your own accomplishments. Be quick to praise other’s accomplishments. That is what it means to be humble. It is okay to realize you are doing well. No matter how old you are I will always love you to call me to tell me everything that you have done. I am and always will be proud of you.

Treat people the way you would want to be treated, even if they do not treat you the same way in return.

God knows your heart. Pray to him. Tell Him your regrets and fears. He is always there to listen and help.

Always remember that God loves you. He will always be there for you even if your father and I can’t. God is always ready and waiting for you to call on Him. Just as I say that I’m just a phone call away. God is even closer. He is just a prayer away. You don’t have to get your phone out and dial a number for Him. All you have to do is speak and He is right there with you to listen and help.

I have so much more to teach you. I’m very thankful that God gave you to me. I am very proud of you. I love you!

Love,

Mommy

If you could write a letter to your children or grandchildren what would you write? If you have a blog consider writing a letter to your own children. If you do please share the link with us in the comments. I would love to read what you have to say.

This is Day 24 of 31 Days Building Commitment. Only 7 days to go in this series. If you want to see a basic outline of where this series is going check out my book “Don’t Quit: Build a Legacy of Commitment“.

Tomorrow I will take a break to tell about our Jonathan’s Birthday.  Breaks like that won’t count in the series they will simply be added bonuses sprinkled in. 🙂

Thanks for following!

~~ Anastacia ~~

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"One day when you get little…"

This afternoon as we were eating lunch we had a family discussion around the table about fixing cars and how Daddy was teaching Joshua to fix brakes.

Hannah asked, “Daddy, will you teach me to fix cars?”

Scott assured her that when she gets a little bigger he’ll teach her. Then Jonathan had the same question. And Scott told him that he’ll teach him too.

Then we got to discussing how that when Jonathan is 13, Joshua will be 23.

We started imagining Jonathan calling Joshua up one day,”Hey, Joshua! Can you help me figure out this transmission?”

Joshua might reply,”Sure! I’ll stop by right after work.”

Then Scott turned it around and said, “I can even see Joshua calling Jonathan one day, and asking him for advice on building a tractor.”

The kids found that was a bit of a jump for their imaginations. They were trying to imagine 4 year old Jonathan growing up and giving Joshua advice.

Joshua looked at Jonathan across the table and asked him,”So Jonathan, how would you fix a tractor?”

Jonathan just looked very seriously up at Joshua and with the most grown up air replied, “One day, when you get little, I’ll show you how to fix tractors.”

We all had a good laugh, even though Jonathan was quite serious.
I explained to the children that they all had their strengths and weaknesses, and that one day when they are older, that even the younger may have things they can teach their older siblings.

There is an interesting lesson that we can learn from Jonathan. Maybe Joshua would need to become figuratively little in order to learn from a brother that is 10 years his junior. It would require him to be humble enough to admit that he doesn’t know something that his little brother knows.

Maybe that is part of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18:4. “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

We need to be willing to admit that we don’t know it all and turn to God for help.

Heavenly Father, help us all be little again.

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