by Jen Powell

Just weeks ago the air was bitter cold and our lawn was crunchy brown. A turn of the calendar page and spring has sprung in the south. Daffodils, hyacinths and tulips decorate our neighborhood. This stark contrast is truly breathtaking.

It makes me think about the ways I study my children and pour the truth of God’s word into their lives… waiting, watching, believing & trusting for His work in them. I am sure we could exchange some funny stories regarding flopped family devotion time. We have one son that seems to appreciate the descriptions of adventure, battles, armies & weapons more than anything else we read. We have a daughter who squirms at those same details. We read on and do our best to engage. There are seasons that I wonder if they are interested or if they are “getting it”. We certainly have had our defeats in teaching our children from the Bible. But by God’s grace we have also seen incredible moments of fruit and growing knowledge of the Lord in our children.

As we approach Easter we have been talking a lot of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and our call to follow Him into daily sacrifice.  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16.

This week God gave us a bright green stalk popping from the soil of our son’s heart, a sign of new life. Our family has had the joy of following God into a lengthy China adoption process. We are in the final stages of gathering funds and preparing to travel soon. We have a big garage sale planned this weekend and we are clearing out this house to bring our new kiddos home. We haven’t put any pressure on our kids to help. We were praying for God to prompt their little hearts.  Our youngest son came out into the kitchen with arms overloaded with things from his room. He announced, “I want to lay down my life. I want to sell my stuff.” It might not sound like much, but in his arms were his favorite stuffed animals and more. Joy flooded our hearts. Jesus is working. God gave us a glimpse of His new life in our child. They are “getting it” despite our flaws and failures.

Again and again we praise God for allowing us to be parents and stand on His promises….clinging to Jesus every step of the way. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

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Taking it One-to-One:

• How are you being intentional as a parent?  Anything you’re anxiously waiting to see in your child’s life?
• Have there been any breakthrough moments lately that you can applaud and build upon?
• Any conversations you need to have with God today based on this article?
• How can you encourage another parent who might need to hear the truth of this article?