Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3 NLT

Thanks for coming back, friend!

I hope you are enjoying this month’s series on God’s good and perfect gifts. Since this series was inspired by my on-going, and so far unsuccessful, attempt to find good Christmas gifts for my two oldest children, it seemed quite fitting to take one day to meditate on Psalm 127:3.

“Children are a gift from the Lord.“

As a mother of three and a long time educator and children’s program leader, I’ll be the first to tell you that there is great joy in working with children, and I’ll also be the first to tell that there is great heartache in working with children.

When I’m talking about parenting, one truth that I often share is that I did not know fear until I had my first child. When he came into this world, it’s like a piece of my heart began to live outside of my body. I remember the first time he slept through the night, I woke up around 4 am, panicked, and ran to his crib to make sure he was still breathing. Then, five years later when his brother came along, I had the same reaction. Six years after that I ran just as quickly to his sister’s crib when she slept through the night for the first time.

Now that they are 23, 18, and 12, I don’t fear that they’ll stop breathing in their sleep or that they’ll climb onto the sofa when I’m not looking or bump their heads on end tables, but that does not mean I no longer have fears. Now, my fears are relational, “Will they make wise dating choices? Will the boys be godly husbands? Will our daughter be a godly wife?”, and financial, “How will we get them through college without massive debt? Will they be responsible with money when they’re fully on their own?”, and societal, “Will the world be safe for them as Christians? Will they hold to their faith when the world pushes against it?”.

Three pieces of my heart are placed into three young people over whom I have great influence, but increasingly less control.

And, like all of God’s good and perfect gifts, this fact draws me closer to God each and every day.

When they were little, I could get up in the night and check their breathing. I could keep a near constant eye on them or place them in the safety pen if I needed to contain them for a bit. I could put safety foam around the corners of the end tables. I felt I could protect them pretty well on my own.

But now, now they go to school, college, and work and are away from me quite a bit. Now, they drive in cars with their friends. Now they have devices in their pockets that give them access to the whole world, the good, the bad, and the ugly of it.

Now, it is increasingly clear to me that God is the One they need more than anything, and He is the One that I need more than anything to guide them into adulthood not only as my children, but as my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Because of the good and perfect gift of my children, I am drawn to pray more, to rely on God more, to talk about God more so that they know the power and the joy of walking closing with the Lord our God.

And so ought we all to be drawn closer to the Lord when we think about the gift of children. Whether God has assigned us to be parents or not, we ought to pray for all children for children are precious to the Lord (Mark 10:13-16; Matthew 18:2-6). We ought to draw closer to God on their behalf so we will be better able to lead them and teach them in ways that please God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6).

As you talk to and care for your own children today, or your grandchildren, or even children you see in the grocery store, take a moment to reflect on the precious gift that God gives us through the blessing of knowing and raising them and allow their presence to inspire you to draw closer to God as a parent, teacher, leader, neighbor, or mentor.

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