How God Taught me to Fight Condemnation
Hey parents, how many of us face condemning when it comes to bringing up our children in the ways of the Lord? I am sure, like me, you do.
I am a working mother and do odd shifts, I live with my in-laws, who have been a great help, especially looking after my 5-year-old when I am at work.
As a new mother with a growing-up child one of the things I had started to experience was the exhaustion of handling work and home, child and husband, along with the pressure of dealing with the complaints of a growing son, once I am back home.
Selfish me, I didn’t realize what I started to do was react immediately to any complaint that came my way. But it wasn’t helping because my relationship with my son was getting hampered and I started to notice complaints weren’t reducing but increasing.
God had to show me a better way
God reminded me how He dealt with my rebellious ways when I was blind to His goodness. I kind of “saw” how He dealt with condemning remarks against me. Instead of reacting, I saw great peace in His eyes when accusations were read out against me. Did He close His eyes to it? No! But He kept it between Him and me, and dealt with me in kindness and love.
As I saw that vision, understanding got deposited in my heart. I am not a perfect mother, but as I started to operate in love, I was able to see the results with my son. I would like to share an incident with you!
Recently we gifted our five year old a new pencil box- A car shaped, double decker, shiny metal box with his favorite colors. My son was so happy to receive this gift and kept showing it off to his friends.
When the secret was let out
Following week while I and my son were enjoying our evening play time, my mother-in-law came to the room and said she had a complaint about him. The moment my son heard her, the joy on his face was now replaced with fear.
My little boy got to the point of tears, jumped off his chair and started to close my ears and eyes pleading with me to not listen to her.
The moment I saw what had happened to him, I held him close, looked in those teary eyes and reassured him of my love, no matter what he had done.
Finally he gathered courage and told me in an attempt to decorate his new pencil box he colored it and spoiled it. He then tried to rectify his mistake by washing and scrubbing it, but all in vain. When he realized he had messed it, he was very scared and hid the pencil box.
My son was weeping as he asked for forgiveness from me and I in turn hugged him and assured him that I am not upset at all, and all he had to do was to come to mummy just as he is, instead of hiding what had happened.
I then showed him a magic potion I had (nail paint remover) that could remove all stains, and as I wiped the pencil box, it became just as new!
Run to Jesus
My son was so happy, he ran out of the room with the box in his hand as a trophy, showing it off to his grandmother. The same box that had been the reason for him to be condemned was now a reason to celebrate!
As I watched my son dancing and rejoicing, I was reminded that this was exactly what God did for you and me. He washed us by His blood. The sin stains were so dark that no blood of bulls and rams could wash us clean. But what we couldn’t accomplish Jesus did it for us, by washing us with His precious blood (Romans 3:25).
Even as you read this, no matter how condemned you feel as a parent, run into the Father’s arms. Don’t allow fear or worry to paralyse you, instead run to His Word. There is no condemnation in Him!
I declare over you: You will do well as a parent. You will raise No Ordinary children who walk with God. Your children shall rise and call you blessed!
Ruta Miller
