Sacred Parenting

This past fall, Brandon and I were a part of a class at church on Wednesday nights that read through the book Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. Sadly, Brandon missed most of the sessions because of his training schedule, but that book has now topped my list as the most profound and challenging marriage book I've read to date. You can imagine how excited I was to find that Gary Thomas also has a Sacred Parenting book - and that there was going to be a class on it at church this spring.



This past week was our first week, so I'm only two chapters into the book, but already I have been incredibly moved and challenged by the excellent Biblical Truth articulated in this book. Incredible. Both the marriage and the parenting books focus on how God created the family unit not to make us happy, but to produce in us a holiness that mirrors Christ. The book shares how our spouses and our children are a mirror that reveals who we really are and what we really value.

I feel like God has been working in my heart recently regarding our parenting - not necessarily the "how to's" of parenting; we all have different personalities, different styles, and different approaches. The challenge for me is learning how to go beyond mere behavior modification to addressing heart issues. The challenge is making the parenting and discipline of my kids a way that I communicate the Gospel. God has been challenging my heart regarding my mission in parenting, my ultimate goals, and my definition of success in parenting.



I find myself asking what legacy I'm building into the hearts of my kids. When they grow and look back on their childhood, what will they say my priorities and passions were? How they answer that question will reveal so much about my heart and what I really lived for. Let's face it - those little eyes are always watching, ever perceiving. How we interact with them says a great deal about what we value.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the tasks of life: the cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, and endless to-do lists. Sometimes I go for days without really considering how the activities of my day had eternal impact. I'm having to learn that only when I allow God to redeem and fill those daily tasks can they have eternal significance. I can teach my kids to be obedient, prompt, respectful, and tidy without ever impacting their hearts or filling their souls with the rich Truth of the Gospel. Or I can make those things a means by which I make God's Heart known to them, a means in which God's Heart is reflected through me.



One thing is for certain - parenting tops my list as one of  the most challenging, rewarding, and sanctifying journeys of my life. How thankful I am for these beautiful treasures in our care!