This weekend the son of a friend of mine was in an automobile accident on the edge of town. He suffered a broken neck with severe damage to his spinal chord. As a result, he is paralyzed from the chest down and is suspected to be this way for the rest of his life. As I visited with my friend, he mentioned that he was questioning whether he had done a good job in raising his son. I think this is a question that all parents will have in their minds at some point or another in their lives.
There are lots of ways to get advice on raising children. Some are very good and some may not be. How do we know we are doing our best? I would like to throw in my 3 cents worth, on this subject.
1. Seek God’s help, when planning a family and at every stage of their life as they grow and mature into adulthood. He created you and them. Who could be better to help you do your best?
2. Be there for them. Don’t let your life become so busy that you’re not able to spend time with them every day. I know that this is hard to do because of varying circumstances, but when you decide to have children, you should make the commitment to being there at least 358 days of the year if at all possible. You can’t do the best job at raising them if you’re not there. When you are around them they will seek to be like you, so take advantage of this to show them Christ living in you. Know that if you're not there that this important part of their life will be compromised.
3. Establish healthy communication with them from the time they are born and keep those lines open and available for the rest of your life. Communication must go both ways. Many great moments will come from this step.
These three areas are very basic and I know there is much more to raising children than just these three, but if you do well in these three, I believe the rest will fall into place with God’s help. Trust in him and he will bring it to pass
I have attached a picture of my son-in-law holding my grand daughter to illustrate what I have been saying. Notice the look on Kadences face as she pears into her daddy’s face. There is a love and a devotion that will be there forever if Jeff cultivates it. I know that’s his goal and I know he is seeking God’s help in doing so. Therefore, I know that it will happen. Praise God. What comfort this brings to this PaPa.
As to the friend I mentioned at the beginning of this letter, he has been doing his best in raising his son for the past few years and because of that, he will be able to make it through this very trying time in their life. He lives the verse that says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess 5:16-18 NIV
