June 17, 2023

Becoming the Son or Daughter God Called You To Be

We live in a fallen world, and since the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, suffering, hardship, disappointment and pain have become an inescapable part of life. Many of us have experienced hardships growing up. The household environment may have not been the healthiest. Maybe there was a lot of fighting. Maybe your mother or father were controlling, or potentially they were harsh and verbally abusive, even physically or sexually abusive. They could have been checked out, absent, or negligent emotionally. Whatever it is, childhood abuse is real, it is painful, and it happens far too often. The question is…as adults, and furthermore, as Christians, how do we honour our parents despite the pain we have endured?

I believe the answer is more simple than we realise. There is no need to complicate it. This is a simple prayer that I believe the Lord gave to me to help me to stay on the right course with honouring my parents. The prayer goes like this...

"Lord, though my parents have not always been the parents that you have called them to be, I pray that you help to make me the daughter that you called me to be."

This prayer shifted my perspective. The truth is God never gave us the ability to control others, but only self control. And we are not accountable for the actions of others, only the actions we choose to make. This means we are accountable for how we treat our parents, in the same way they are accountable for how they have treated us. Our goal, and heart posture as Christians is to please God, and to make earth a little more like heaven each day. We can have a huge impact in this world, just by being intentional and honoring our parents.

3 Simple things you can do right now to honour your parents today:

Write them a note telling them all of the things that you appreciate and love about them.
Praying that God encounters them in new ways, and that they would grow in their relationship with Him.
Always speaking calmly and kindly to them.