Purposed Parent Connected Child Podcast - Episode 010 - Do They See Jesus?
Welcome to the Purposed Parent/Connected Child Podcast
Episode #010 – Do They See Jesus
Are you yearning for greater connection with your child? Would you like to parent beyond the moment with eternal perspective? Let’s grow together now with practical tips, scripture, and stories geared to draw your heart to Jesus and guide your child into His arms.
Exhilaration swept through me this morning as I crowned the top of one of the largest hills around our neighborhood. No one was beside me on the road, and for a second, I could see nothing but sky from the other side. Uncertainty was present, but didn’t overwhelm me as I trusted the process that my car and I would make it safely to the other side and cruise to the bottom of the hill.
As I drove, I wondered why so many people love roller coasters, thrill rides, motorcycles, sky-diving, or the uncertainty of these various types of activities, yet we lose patience when God doesn’t answer prayer right away or we have to wait for other types of answers in life. We don’t mind, in fact we crave the unclear ending of moments of fear done in fun, yet our expectations for regular life are much more demanding. Especially where God is concerned.
The moment of glee I felt driving over that hill today brought the innocence I felt as a young child. Matthew 18:3-4says, “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” As I drove, I thought of the week I had just experienced, filled with busyness and unexpected demands and trials. I knew God had given me this particular hill and a revelation about blind faith as a reminder that He saw me; He knew I was trying to wait on Him with the hope, belief, and patience of a child. Just as you may be doing right now.
Every burden or annoyance (and there have been so many) that has arisen this past week was not on my schedule, and some were not pleasant to deal with, yet God was present every time. I saw His perfect timing, His provisions through the hardships. He enabled me to react with grace and without fear or worry. The Lord offered me several opportunities to praise and reveal Him to others, and He allowed me a chance to choose to remain with eyes fixed on Him, waiting to see how He would resolve every issue or to have faith that He would do so.
I didn’t always look at problems like this. I didn’t always teach my children to view life in this way. My 18 or 21 year old self wouldn’t have been able to rely on Christ to carry me through difficulties. It’s been a process of release and repeat over years of drawing nearer to Jesus so that He would draw nearer to me.
To truly live with eternal perspective and be a purposed parent who connects with their child through Christ and with personal attention, we must be a mentor who knows Jesus so deeply and allows Him to shine so well that we become a magnet that attracts our child to Christ. It’s the littlest of details that our children see and absorb. When we make Jesus our foundation, and also the core of our existence, knowing that as Colossians 1:16 says, “For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him,” we are called to live in this world, but not be a part of it, our children joyfully begin to do the same.
This week I was unable to finish drafting this podcast. Every single time I tried to write, something pressing came up. I asked my husband and both girls to pray for me. I questioned whether I was hearing God correctly. I thought that maybe I was writing the wrong podcast this week, and that was what was making it difficult to get it completed. Each day I tried to accomplish (without success) what I usually do so easily. Yet I kept pressing on each day, knowing it somehow didn’t feel like it would be used, but writing with the faith that it would all come together.
This week is a little different. Instead of relaying to you what I originally thought God pressed on my heart to teach, I’m simply sharing an experience, but one that impresses exactly what God calls for us each moment as we walk with Him.
Last week we were supposed to have a lot of yard work accomplished at our home. We had several trees to remove, several to trim, and stumps to grind away. When we first moved into this home years ago, we removed shrubs and trees, yet because our yard needed so much more work done, and the costs for this type of labor can tend to get very expensive, we waited…and waited…and waited. Finally, this year, I had enough. I knew it was time. After receiving several bids, I found a company I thought we could trust, they had the right price, and the company representative said he was a believer. We were ready to get the work done.
It rained all day on the Friday they were supposed to begin working. We waited through the weekend, and they were supposed to arrive at 7:30 am Monday. Because of the rain, they were very late, in fact they didn’t arrive until almost 1:00 in the afternoon. Because we liked the representative who gave us the quote, we called them since we hadn’t heard from them, and forgave the tardiness. We certainly understand that jobs can get backed up. It would have been nice to receive a call explaining things, however.
Once the crew arrived, it was obvious that they wouldn’t complete the job in that afternoon. Promising to come back the next day, they left. Early the next morning the crew arrived and the work was completed shortly after noon. When I did the walk through with the owner, I didn’t notice anything wrong and I had a great chat with him, then paid him. Before he left, as we were still conversing, I asked if he was a believer, like the co-owner of the company was. He said that he wasn’t, but that he did believe in a higher power. We chatted for several minutes about Jesus, reading and studying the word, how God gives us free choice, and I told him I would be praying for him. He shared some things with me, thanked me with what seemed to be a genuine smile and expression, and told me that he hoped he saw me again. I immediately went in the house to share the story with my girls. It is such a joy to me to share God stories with them. As they grow up, I want them to learn to search for God in the ordinary moments and to hold every thought captive for Christ. The three of us marveled at what God must be working and prayed for the man together.
Mothers, every opportunity must be used for God. Weaving Him into every conversation is easy when we allow Him to guide us, to reach those around us. If our life is centered around Christ, it is as easy as breathing to remember that He is present and concerned with every circumstance in our life. Numerous times this past week I was afforded opportunities to speak about Jesus or praise Him to others in various ways. It was fun to capture those moments and see how God worked.
After the owner of the tree company left our home, I took the girls to pick up pizza. When we returned home, I noticed with my peripheral vision (as we drove into the garage) that our glass storm door looked very dusty and dirty, like it was covered in sawdust or something. Since we were all so hungry, I forgot all about it until later in the afternoon when I went to open the front door to go outside. As I pulled open the front door, the air between the main and storm door made a suction force that sucked glass inside, allowing it to fall in on me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing as the glass barely missed me. Like my youngest said, it was like it came toward me, but fell against something unseen right in front of me. I looked at the pile of shattered glass pieces at my feet and also scattered across my entryway, then at the heap of tiny pieces at the foot of the door. My gaze raised to the actual door and I saw that none of the glass was salvageable. A web of cracks wove throughout the entire door with hundreds of pieces missing in a giant heart-shaped design missing at the center and hundreds of shattered pieces still somehow precariously hanging together inside the frame.
I was stunned. At first I didn’t move. After praising God that I miraculously hadn’t been cut or injured, I wondered exactly how I was supposed to begin cleaning the mess up and how I would safely remove the remaining glass from the frame. After putting my puppy in his kennel, I warned the girls to stay back so that no one could ingest glass (the puppy, not the girls) or step on the pieces that stretched for several feet across the floor.
After the puppy was safe and warnings were issued to the girls to stay out of the area, I called the tree company. Our door had been fine earlier. I wondered what in the world could have happened that would cause this damage while they were working. The co-owner was on his way out of town and said he would have the owner call me. I took photos of the damage to the door and of the glass in my home, then began cleaning everything up. As I was finishing cleaning up the mess inside my house, the owner drove up to our home. He inspected the damage to the door and didn’t think they could have harmed it. After a few minutes, he remembered that his crew had worked right in front of our door that morning, and he agreed to check with his crew to see which direction the chipper was facing when they used it. He gave me his cell number and said he would get back to me.
Now it’s the next evening. I haven’t heard from him and my text to him inquiring whether he had an opportunity to speak with his crew has gone unanswered. My check has been cleared, so the company has been paid. I did take more photos of my porch. Last night when my husband came home and inspected everything, he noticed many wood chips covering areas of our porch and doorbell. He knew they wouldn’t be there if the chipper hadn’t been facing our front door.
Through this situation, a passage in Matthew 5 fills me with a peace that doesn’t come naturally to any of us. Regardless of what happens in this situation, I deeply desire for Christ to be honored and for this man to see the difference I told him Jesus makes in a life. When we talked yesterday I praised Jesus and assured the owner of the company that Christ changes people in every way. I want to be an example of one who places worries and trials in Christ’s hands and allows Him to carry me through to a resolution that pleases Him, regardless of what the cost is to me. As I had shared with the owner yesterday, relationship with Jesus is the key. It’s not a religion or a belief in something, but a personal commitment that changes lives.
Matthew 5:13-16 says,“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
As the passage relays to us, believers are the saltof the earth. Salt preserves. We must allow Christ to work throughus and seek Him in and through absolutely everything that happens in our life. As the Holy Spirit works within us, He preserves the world from the evil inherent in the ungodly men and women chasing the world instead of Christ. In all honesty, that is every single one of us when we let our mind and heart slip from Him.
Salt is also a flavor enhancer. As we allow Christ to flavor our thoughts, actions, words, and reactions, we humbly submit and allow Him to draw others to Himself.
Romans 8:8 says, “Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.”
It’s easy to say we follow Christ, except when the road is difficult. Unless we face trials with His mindset and live with the expectancy of a faith-filled child, we will never carry the eternal perspective our child needs to connect with Jesus with authenticity and joy. They will never live with the hope, peace, and freedom found in Christ alone.
As believers, and parents to children we deeply desire to become believers, we must be appealing, like the saltiness found in delicious foods, if Jesus is to work through us.
Mark 9:50 says, “Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Many could argue that I shouldn’t let the company take advantage of us. We don’t plan to, but instead of thinking about the situation in that way, I want to prayerfully believe that God is in control. He knew when I was speaking with the man about Christ that this would happen, and I feel it set the stage for our interaction now. I choose to believe a miracle is happening and I get to choose whether to be a part of it.
If we, as individuals or parents allow the world to dictate our reactions, we will succumb to selfish desires or pure stubborn selfishness, ruining our witness to our children and the rest of the world.
Just as salt preserves, we must stabilize our walk with Jesus through a strong, intimate, personal relationship that transforms our character and maintains His for the world to witness, especially the eyes of those most important to us, who are entrusted to us for such a time as this.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for the week I’ve had. You know the funny and painful stories I have faced. I know I’m not alone. Each listener has faced trials and pain, heartache or denial. So many issues face us in this world. Only You know the way through them. You sent Him in human form and show us the way to Him with Your word. Father, guard our hearts! Guard our minds! Thank you for every opportunity that allows us to be the people You purposed and the parent You desire. Carry us because we submit to You. Cause our face to glow with the expectancy of submission and delight when we face You each day. May we think of You in every moment and mentor the way for our children to do the same. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Thank you for listening to this podcast. If you pray for your child, please look for my free ebook, “Prayers for My Child,” available on the website under the “Resources” page and is designed to guide the heart of your child to the feet of Jesus through scripturally-based prayer.
The Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast is now available at terrihitt.com, where you can access the episodes housed in one convenient location, receive access to blog posts, read transcripts, and find additional resources designed to mature your walk with Christ and equip you to raiseor influence connected children through Him.
God knows that we are not capable of successful parenting on our own. As we rely on Him, releasing doubts and expectations, and humbly bow to His guidance and experience, we find greater clarity in parenting and a wondrous walk with our Creator that will extend to our children and those around us for generations.
I pray this podcast helps you parent with purposeand deepen your connection to Jesus and your children as you intentionally place Christ above culture or self. Allow Him to work through you for true connection that will draw your children to Him and build a maturing relationship with Christ and your child that lasts for eternity.