Keeping it Real

This is how I wish my children were most the time, especially in the car......

But this is how they usually are....doing crazy things in the house like playing basketball.

This is how I wish my kitchen always was... well at least when meals are over.

But this is how it usually is.

Like I've said before, blogs, and really all social media, tend to paint a "perfect" picture of our lives.  I am by no means perfect and our life is full of ups and downs.  My house is often messy, disorganized, and loud with someone crying.  I have doubts every day about raising my children in this sin-filled, ever changing, hard world we live in.  I was struggling with this recently and praying to the Lord about it.  I was wondering why things don't seem to always, or really even most of the time, turn out the way we think they should.  We begin to follow some "formula" for our lives thinking that because we are doing "this or that", we will get "this or that" result.  For example, if I'm homeschooling my children, taking them to church, spending time with them, etc. doesn't that mean that they will turn out like "perfect" little Christians or perfectly mannered and academically successful,  rich, happy, etc. Or if I'm feeding my kids healthy food and they are getting plenty of sunshine and exercise, taking vitamins, eating organic, etc. then they will most certainly be healthy, strong, smart and not get any devastating diseases. Well, we all know this is not the case.  I was crying out to God about this and I felt like He spoke to me, "Daughter, are you obeying me to get some predisposed outcome, or are you obeying me just to obey me because you love me?" Ouch!  I was convicted.  I needed to repent of doing what I felt like the Lord has called me to because I thought it would reap the harvest that I want and not simply doing it out of obedience.  The result is up to the Lord, not us.  We are to obey what He is leading us to do because we love and trust Him.  Whether this is homeschooling, quitting your job to stay home with your kids, giving up unhealthy food,  honoring and loving your spouse the way you should, etc. I'm not here on this earth to please or impress anyone but my Lord.  This is so freeing.  And the wonderful thing about this is, like my pastor said last Sunday, "When we obey the Lord, He responds and never disappoints." It may not be the way we want Him to respond or in the timing we would like, but He will remain faithful and true to us and His word.  So mothers, lets press on toward the goal of obeying the Lord in all things and walking closer to Him and leave the outcome, particularly as it pertains to our children, to Him.