~OnRearingChildren~

The kids had been begging, as they do about once a year, to get out the old video camera to watch things we recorded when they were small.
I pulled the bag off my closet shelf and sat down in the keeping room to get everything hooked up to the t.v.
I instantly smiled as I pulled out this gigantic thing that when we bought it, was so sleek and small. State of the art, it was.
Now it's heavy and bulky, is about twice the size of our current smarter sleeker video recorder, and looks absolutely ancient.
We plug it in, hit play and the kids start giggling and nudging each other with every silly or nostalgic thing.
Maybe it was the year, or just my emotional state, but whatever the reason, I was nothing but water works. I don't think I have ever cried watching home movies. I just don't. 
Don't get me wrong. I cherish previous years and have fond memories of my life in the midwest with little ones, but I love where we are now and don't usually feel particularly emotional about yesterday.
But today was different.
Jake was 4, Reese was 2, and Avery was a crawler.
After about 15 minutes watching, all I could think was,
"Man! They haven't changed at all.  Not one little bit. They are they exact same people. Just bigger!"
The mannerisms
the temperaments
the eyes
the personalities
the tendencies
the strengths
the weaknesses
are astoundingly unchanged.
I could see them then and I see them now.
Reese looks at me now exactly like she looked at me then. Her eyes sparkle and her sweet little mouth is the same.
Jake tells me things in the same tone today that he did way back when. He wants my approval. 
And Avery was her own person before she could even walk.  She still walks to the beat of her own drum as an 8 year old like nobody's business.

I was struck by these three and their vast differences even at those young ages. And the fact that they came into this world with those things that make them them.

Whether you have one child, or four, or nineteen, you have been given the task of rearing these little people.

rear

verb (used with object)

1.

to take care of and support up to maturity: to rear a child.

3.

to raise by building; erect.

4.

to raise to an upright position: to rear a ladder.

5.

to lift or hold up; elevate; raise.

To raise to an upright position. 
To build.
To support to maturity.

When I think about something  being built, I think about the architect who designed the structure. 
He's the guy behind the desk. 
He is the visionary. 
He sees the finished product in all it's splendor.
He knows what it takes to bring the thing to fruition and considers every detail from start to finish.
BUT. 
He passes off his precious blueprints to the builders.
These guys.
They are the ones in the trenches.
Hard hats on. 
Sweating and exhausted. 
Working day in and day out. 
They can't afford to quit and must be faithful in the details.

Moms and Dads……we are the builders.
These kids God has entrusted to us, have been designed by the Chief Architect. 
If He has given them to us, then He has also equipped us with the things we need to rear them. 
To bring them to a place of standing on their own.
To build.
To love…..even when they embarrass us.
To not give up on.
To not quit on.
To pray for.
To pay attention to how they are wired and to be patient with the things that haunt them.
To be on them like "white on rice" with what they have access to on their cell phones and the televisions and computers in your home. 
To be strong enough to be tough when needed and to have the sensitivity to extend grace when they mess up. 
I said grace.
Not a license.
Trust me, there's a huge difference in the two.

Love your kids individually. 
Talk to them about their own personal "weirdnesses" and help them combat those things that could otherwise become hinderances in their walk to maturity.
Affirm them…..warts and all.
For heaven's sake, don't compare them.
They must decide how to live, but by God's grace, let's equip them well.
The choice is theirs but let's be faithful builders.

Just this morning, I was prompted to make prayer cards for each of my kids.
I sat down with my Bible and asked the Lord to give me verses to pray over them and began to list some specific things that I want to be intentional in praying for faithfully. 
This is just how miraculous my God is.
In my head, I said, 
"Okay, God. Help me. I want to do a better job praying for the kids. What do you want for Jake?"
I opened my Bible to 2 Kings.
Yes, 2 Kings, I said. 
I mean, what's even in that book besides a lot of names I can't pronounce?
I just happened to find this gem:
(the verse I will pray over my son for the rest of my life)

I've got another for Reese, and am working on/waiting for my other two.

Hang in there and don't quit. 
God has given your kids to you for a reason.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 1:6

~stacey