Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
(Psalm 127:4 NKJV)
The last Friday I attended the local homeschool co-op, I shared a brief devotion. Whether or not you have physical or spiritual children or grandchildren, and whether or not you educate them at home, I hope these reflections on the theme of DILIGENCE will encourage and empower you to raise up this next generation of Christ-followers.
Be diligent to guard your marriage. A marriage is a unique and complex relationship between two people created in God’s image but flawed by sin. It requires work to correct the wrongs, forgive the sins, and communicate with each other in meaningful ways. Some relationships are easily maintained, some not. All grow with care from the Master Gardner, so we must continue to pray for our marriages. Why? Because if the enemy of our souls can take out our marriage, he has a straight shot at our kids. (h/t Heidi St. John)
And, parents: you must also be diligent to do reasonable self care. Raising children is an endless, often thankless, exhausting job and this calling will feel like a burden if you’re not carving out time to tend your physical body, your emotional and relational health, and your spiritual being. You were created to LIVE life fully, not just survive, (John 10:10) so ask God to help you find the right ways, times, and people to support you in being the fullness of who God created you to be for this season of your life.
Assuming that if you are reading this you desire to educate and parent your children to the best of your ability, I invite you to be diligent in three key areas:
Education: Commit to providing the highest-quality education that fits your child’s needs and aligns with your family’s values. Seek the best classes, curricula, or resources available, and commit to making them happen. You have the freedom to educate your children—use it wisely (Galatians 5:13).
Character Development: Train your children “in the way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6). Teach integrity, morality, respect, obedience, honesty, empathy, self-discipline, loyalty, generosity, curiosity, faithfulness, servanthood, and diligence. The values we instill in our children in every moment of every hour of every day in every year add up to the positive character qualities they need as adults. My prayer is that our children will grow into being men and women of integrity, honor, and men and women after God’s own heart.
Faith Development: Be intentional in nurturing your children’s relationship with God and involvement in the larger body of Christ. Worship, serve, and grow together each week. Lead by example in spiritual growth. As the apostle John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4 NIV).
Finally, be diligent to pray. Pray for your marriage, yourself, your children, your homeschooling, your church, and your co-op or school. The leaders – “shepherds,” if you will – are constantly working to keep the organization running smoothly so that our children will have the best education possible. They need your respect, your encouragement, and your prayers.
If you don’t know how to pray for these areas, ask God to help you. Enlist prayer warriors in your circles to support you and your family in prayer as you parent. As Todd Wilson says about homeschooling, “It’s good, but it’s hard.” Homeschooling and parenting are GOOD, but not always easy. So, ask people you trust to support and encourage you in prayer.
Now in my 16th year of homeschooling, I can look back with gratitude at those who came before me to provide such an amazing co-op and mentor me as a home-educating parent. And I am grateful for the many families over the years who have planted seeds and tilled the soils of my sons’ minds and hearts. My homeschooling journey wasn’t without its deep struggles, but I see the fruit of that work now lived out in the lives of our sons as they launch into adulthood. I hope you can see that the hard work of parenting and educating your kids today leads to the bountiful spiritual and relational fruit of tomorrow.
Lastly, parents, be diligent in leaning on God and trusting his grace. You will not do everything perfectly, there will be holes/gaps in your children’s education, and you will even outright fail at some things. That’s life. But the One who gives us life invites us to trust him to fill in those gaps and guide and steer us through the storms and struggles. His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9), and he loves our children much more than we can ever love them.
Our children are arrows in the hands of warriors – us! (Psalm 127:4). So, let us diligently aim them as best we can toward the fullness of who God created them to be, trusting his grace to meet all our needs.
God,
You are the giver of all good gifts and we thank and praise you for the calling to parent our spiritual and physical children and grandchildren. We pray for your wisdom, discernment, strength, and grace to be upon us as we raise up the next generations. Help us to diligently guard our marriages, our self-care, and our children’s upbringing so they will be well-educated men and women of honor, integrity, and men and women after your own heart. We pray for leaders in education – from local teachers and administrators of schools and homeschool co-ops, all the way up to the state boards of education and federal education department. May these organizations assist parents in training up these children in the way they should go. Help us to lean on you for grace and to trust you to fill in where we fall short. May these children be arrows in the hands of warriors, seeking to fulfill your callings on their lives. We pray all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.