Do you ever think about what God expected of you when He sent you one of His children to be yours?
A couple weeks ago, our 4-year-old was sick and coughing through most of the night. At one point she came to me and asked me to lay by her on her bed. While I was there next to her, I was thinking that being on-call at night, especially when my kids are sick, is one of the duties that was assigned to me when I became a parent.
I feel like this parent job is the most important and demanding of any responsiblity on Earth. If God had made us sign a contract when He gave us this job, what would it have looked like? What would my job description be? What would He promise in return for doing this job?
This is what I think my parenting contract would look like:
My Parenting Responsibilities
I am to put my children’s needs before my wants. It is my responsibility to see what their needs are and make sure they get met, whether by me or someone else.
I am to be on call for them day and night for the rest of my life. They need to know that they always have someone who loves them and will take care of them.
I am to work with my parenting partner to provide for their needs, protect them, and love them. Together we should teach them what’s right and wrong, how to work, and how to learn.
I am to be a good example for them of obedience to God and the law, of service to others, and of apologizing when I do wrong.
I am to create a happy atmoshpere for them to live and learn where they can become their best selves.
How God Blesses Me as a Parent
When I include God in my parenting, He will:
- guide me and bless me to know what my individual children need from me,
- help us povide for our children’s needs,
- teach us wisdom and patience through our trials with them,
- help us to find joy in them,
- bless us with a love greater than we’ve ever known, even a little taste of His love for us.
From My Experience
I can’t tell you how many times over my almost 23 years of parenthood that I’ve gone to the Lord with a struggle with my kids and He’s given me a thought that was exactly what we needed to solve the issue. Countless times as I’ve done my best with my kids, I’ve been filled with joy and love for them that I never knew my heart was capable of. I know that when we do our best to care for our children, who are the Lord’s children in our care, He does help and bless and teach us beyond our ability to imagine.
Scripture References
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Deut. 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Mosiah 4: 14 (The Book of Mormon) And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness. 15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Matt. 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
May the Lord bless you in your parenting adventures. Thanks for reading my post.
