There may be a list that goes on for infinity of all the things I don’t know. But the list of things I do know is of much greater importance! I’ve never done this before. Lauren and I are so blessed to have four girls. We have also been raised by great parents. Now they are grandparents and they are still praying over our girls the same way that they prayed over us growing up. Lauren and I walked into the preview service of The Village Christian Church over 20 years ago and were married before the church’s third anniversary.
The Village is all our girls have ever known. Over the last 20 years, I can’t begin to estimate how many ‘Village people’ have been to our home, hosted us into their home, or shared a meal with us along the way. So many people have come into our lives and loved us like family, while we have grown in our capacity to love back. So many have loved our girls like they are family and continue to invest in us all weekly. All that to say, I’ve still never done this before.
So What Do I Do?
I’ve never been married for 18 years before, parented a high school student, tried to raise four girls who are going four different directions with four entirely different personalities and four different friend groups. And an understatement is that this responsibility is hard.
Where do we go, and what do we do with this incredible responsibility of raising our children? I’m reminded of Galatians 4:5-6.
God sent him (Jesus) to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
Can you even believe that?! We’ve been adopted by the creator of all things and given rights to call him Dad!
My mind races with the potential of danger around every corner. My protective spirit wants to warn my girls of every risk they could encounter along the way. However, if I were to enter a busy airport with my girls, I wouldn’t spend my time explaining every potential for catastrophe. Instead, I would just advise them to ‘stay by dad’.
The Good Father
So why wouldn’t I advise them to do the same thing in their relationship with their Heavenly Father? I’m helpless to protect them from everything they might have to face in this life. The world is such a dark and dangerous place, and at some point they will all face it on their own. All I can do is remind them to ‘stay by dad’. They have a Father in heaven that never tires, never fails, never wakes up grumpy, and never goes to bed angry. And if there is anything I do know, it is to teach the girls the power of ‘staying by dad’.
There are many things I do know. I do know that love covers a multitude of sins. And the greatest love was when the Father sent his Son, Jesus, to die as our rescue. What I do know is that there is power in the blood of Christ to forgive my sin and theirs. I do know that God pursues me, and therefore I know He is pursuing my children. Without a doubt, I do know that there is life in God’s Word. Not only that, but I do know that God interacts on a supernatural level through prayer and the indwelling of His Spirit, and therefore I will teach them to pray to a God who listens and is with them.
Praise God for His grace, His love, His Spirit that He fills us with, and His Word that shows us His character! I Praise God that for everything I don’t know, He has already held together in His hand! Praise God for this adoption!
