Parenting teenagers is a terrific challenge. In my case, the gap between father and son is a long span of forty years. While shopping for him one day, I told the clerk I was looking for something for my 17 year old. A few moments later I overheard him asking his assistant to go over and help those grandparents (referring to me!) find something for their grandson. UGH.
The barrier in parent/child relationships is more than the years which separate us, but that's something you already knew. For the past six months I have tried to "get back in touch with my son." It seemed that we were making progress; at least we weren't arguing about the small stuff anymore. But I prayed that God would give me a visible sign, something tangible, so I would know that my efforts were not wasted.
Then it happened. We were ending a brief phone conversation yesterday. I said the usual "Good-bye," and he responded, "Later Dude." I had heard him say that so many times before when speaking to his best friend and his older brother, but he had never said it to me. Praise God for small victories!
I wonder if God is more concerned about my relationship to Him than I am? Is our Lord as brokenhearted when we don't have time for Him as we are when our children seem too busy for us? Before we drift apart, let us nurture our spiritual relationship with our Heavenly Father on a daily basis by spending more quality time with Him.
GospeLines Prayer:"Father, have I seemed aloof and distant from you? It's just that I have been so busy, you understand, don't you? My work is so demanding and my friends need me so much, and when I get home in the evening I am so tired. You understand, don't you? Tell you what, next week we will sit down and have a long chat, OK? Is that a tear I see in your eye, Father?" Amen and amen.
Dr. Steve Perry, principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut had a dream with a mission. He aspired to open a school serving mainly black and Latino children that focused on the color of their success, not the color of their skin. Dr. Perry stated that "Education is the sail that casts the winds of hope.” His mission set an expectation that despite the odds, circumstances or socio-economic background, these minority students could achieve and excel. His dream is succeeding – 100% of his students are college bound.
They are successful academically; but, are still disconnected. A disproportionate number of parents are disengaged and seemingly disinterested in their children’s success. Many are conspicuously absent at football games and conferences. Dr. Perry's own troubled childhood helps him relate to their struggles to be healthy and whole. He has had to become more than just a principal; serving as a school bus driver, father figure and counselor. He understands that the students need to know he is there for them when there is no one else.
We, too, need someone who knows our struggles and who is there for us when there is no one else.Just like these students, we are often disconnected.But, there is a remedy for our afflictions and a source to see us through.We need to look to Jesus, the only One who can turn coal into diamonds!
God gave Steve Perry a vision; He had a plan for this "diamond in the rough.” He has a plan for us, too.
I am a diamond in the rough
Buried deep underground, just waiting to be mined
I am a diamond in the rough
Tender at my center, but outwardly tough
I am a diamond in the rough
Whose edges are raw and my shape yet defined
I am a diamond in the rough
With many facets, just waiting to be polished so I can shine
I am a diamond in the rough
Truly one of a kind and uniquely His
I am a diamond in the rough
One in a million and different by design
I AM... a diamond
A Rare Gem... Indeed!
GospeLines Prayer: Father many of our children don’t have the vision and don’t know they are gems - most precious stones. We know that all of Your children are precious in Your sight.
Show us how to embrace our uniqueness and to love ourselves as You love us. May we look only to You - there is no one else!
With You at our center, we can do all things. (Phil. 4:13)
In His Love,
Carla˙
≈ Devotional for Wednesday, August 5, 2009
"My Rainbow"
It was just one of those particularly difficult days at work! I walked outside to take a deep breath (and count to ten). Hands on hips, I leaned back to look at the thunderstorms overhead, and there it was, painted in the northwestern sky by the hand of a gracious God. He gave me a rainbow at the very moment I needed it.
“I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9: 15, 16
No matter how deep the waters of my own personal travail may become, there is a God of hope standing nearby, telling me that the worst situation I face will not destroy my most precious possession, my relationship with the Father. The evil of this world may disappoint me, bankrupt me financially, and it may even take my life. But evil can never win out over God’s promise of eternal life. Amen and amen.
The Arizona media is buzzing about an eight year old girl who was raped by four boys.As horrific as this is, it's not the reason for the "buzz."The girl's parents have allegedly rejected her because she has "brought shame on the family."She's no longer a virgin and therefore no man will ever want her... she's not perfect.
A pastor friend of mine had an affair.He repented and confessed his sin to his wife and to his congregation.God forgave him; his wife forgave him; his friends forgave him.Even the husband of the woman with whom he had the affair forgave him.However, his denomination pulled his ordination because of his sin... he's not perfect.
Jesus said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."Even the Pharisees (who thought of themselves very highly) dropped their stones and walked away.
God doesn't want perfect, He wants forgiven. He doesn't want the strong and powerful but the meek and the humble so that through His power, not our works or skills, He can be glorified.
None are without sin and with God, all sins are equal - no one stands out above another.He will not accept any sin.
Thank You Jesus that because of Your sacrifice on the cross, our sins are washed away - as far as the east is from the West.When we accept Christ, we are free and clean.We're not perfect... just forgiven.
GospeLines Prayer:Lord God, help us to forgive as You forgive.Help us to drop the stones and walk away.help us see others as You see them, through the blood of Jesus.
Shalom,
RonU
Be made new in the attitude of your minds and have the same attitude, purpose and humble mind that was in Christ Jesus.
Michael Caine is one of the most accomplished actors of this generation. In a recent interview, when he was asked to describe what acting really is, he said, "Some actors hold up a picture and say look at me. I hold up a mirror and say look at you."
Those teachers in my life who influenced me were not always the most intelligent or the ones with the most wit. My life has been molded by those gifted people who taught me to look at myself. They didn't berate me with rules I couldn't follow, or demands which I might learn to despise. What they did was hold up a mirror to show me my life as others saw it, and allow me to see the desperate need I had to become more than I was.
Your greatest hour will come when you enable someone to grow by using a mirror instead of a rod of discipline. This takes superior grace and wisdom. It is precisely the method of teaching Jesus used in the parables, helping his audience to SEE and FEEL who they really were.
GospeLines Prayer:Heavenly Father, make me less apt to lecture and more prone to love my neighbor as myself; less critical and more Christ-like; less haughty about my elevated spiritual stature and more humble in my witness. Amen and amen.