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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Flores, Senior Lead Pastor’s wife and Business Administrator at Mosaic Church, in Greeley, CO, mother of 3 college graduates, and 2 adorable grandsons.
BIBLE VERSE:
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
APPLICATION:
Do you ever have those moments where you think, this happened so quickly? Two years ago, my daughter gave birth to our first grandchild. As I stood next to her, holding her hand, watching as her husband kissed her forehead and encouraged her to push, I was instantly reminded of giving birth to her. I remember feeling scared and overwhelmed as I was getting ready to give birth to our first child. How in the world am I standing here watching my daughter give birth when it seems like just yesterday that I was giving birth to her at this exact same hospital?
When my husband and I started our family 29 years ago, I never considered that our three kids would one day grow up, go to college, move out, and even get married. Yet here I stand. All three of our children have grown, graduated from college, moved out, and two of them are married. It goes by so fast and it seems like there are never enough days to teach them everything you want to teach them. There aren’t enough days to do everything you want to do with them. Then you find yourself at home alone. Just you, your husband, and the dog.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” How exactly do you train up a child to love God and love people? How do you teach them to follow God’s Word and be good humans? Mostly, how do you do this when you're just trying to keep them alive? The best way is to live the life that you want your kids to live. Be the type of person you want your kids to be. Now, that’s not to say I didn’t have my moments of failure. There were plenty of those moments. But even in those moments we can teach our kids how to be resilient, how to say “sorry” if needed, and mostly how to come back from your mistakes. Then, if all goes according to plan, you will be able to enjoy the fruits of you labor and you’ll look forward to living life with your adult kids.
PRAYER:
Jesus I am so thankful for my children. Thank you for entrusting me with each one of them. Help me to continue to “train them up” even as adults. I pray that they would follow you everyday of their lives. I pray for the mothers of adult children who may feel like I do, that their children grew up so quickly. I pray you would give them insight on how to train their kids even as adults. Remind them that even though they may have an empty nest you will never leave them with an empty heart, you are a faithful God! Amen.
I remember the day my youngest daughter left for college, then married and then had my first grandchild. I had suffered through the "empty nest syndrome" and cried for days. In the midst of this I went through a devastating divorce. I prayed daily for strength to get through this tough time and God walked me through it. Today I have 8 grandchildren and they are growing up way to fast. I am so thankful that my daughters know God and are raising their children with Gods Word.
This message brings me both encouragement and hope as I begin to enter this stage with my oldest. Thank you Diane for your wisdom, for your example and for your valuable truths from God's Word for all of us as we continue to "Train Them Up"!