Just Keep Swimming

      
         What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "I have 
      teenagers"?  Rebellious, stubborn, strong headed? I am sure we have all             heard many more adjectives and connotations describing this particular    
season in our children's lives.

I find this verse perfectly placed in chapter 3 of Stressed-Less Living by Tracie Miles: 

 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust is your strength,
    but you would have none of it. Isaiah 30:15

While it is natural for our children to grow up and live independent from us, we as children of God, are supposed to depend on God to supply our needs and trust that HE will.

Over and over in the old testament we read stories of how God blessed his people, they would turn away from him, get themselves into a mess, cry out to God, and he would rescue them, just to repeat the cycle again and again.

I was getting extremely frustrated with them myself!  I finally asked him, "God, why did you keep rescuing these people?".  I just couldn't understand.  It was later in my prayer time that He answered me.  "How many times would you go after your own children, Melissa?" "thank you God, point made!"  

As parents we get a glimpse of how strong HIS love is for us! We want our children to make wise choices, trust us, know that we love them, know that we know what is best for them even when they can't see it, and that we do forgive them when they make mistakes.

We don't want to see them suffer even if it was their own disobedience, stubbornness, or down right rebellion that caused their pain.

Tracie talks about how our children pull the "everybody else's parents" card to get their own way.  When we as parents know that is not the path our children need to take!

The Israelites kept pulling the "everybody else's king" or "everybody else's pagan god" card only to find themselves smack dab in a pit of captivity, slavery, bondage, or whatever it was. When they would cry out and repent, and trust in God they be saved!

When we know our children are making poor choices, are we going to be there giving them the tools to self destruct?  If they are in trouble and cry out to us for help do we just ignore them?

My prayer is that we realize that as we progress on this journey to less stress, that we don't look to our own strength, or "everybody else's" solutions.   I pray that we won't be rebellious, and that we will look to our heavenly father.  The world's ways may look appealing or promising to us like they do our teenagers, or they did to the Israelites but, only in HIM is our peace.  We can rest in the fact that  Father knows best!