{"id":1090,"date":"2012-09-21T09:12:50","date_gmt":"2012-09-21T13:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etheriedge.wordpress.com\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2020-05-04T15:00:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T19:00:58","slug":"in-my-weakness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forglorysake.com\/index.php\/2012\/09\/21\/in-my-weakness\/","title":{"rendered":"In My Weakness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purposeful\u00a0parenting to raise godly kids<\/em> does not hinge solely on me – and I Thank God sincerely! Just for the record, my husband and I read all the books, listened to teachings, and even followed a parenting program<\/em> complete with a schedule. We tried our hardest, praying for God’s leading the whole time.\u00a0And still stubbornness and rebellion raised it’s ugly head.<\/p>\n

Don’t misunderstand me, these things were worthwhile, especially the praying! It’s just that, with kids, there’s no guarantee clause<\/em>. Some of our children quickly and easily fell into step, while others resisted and pushed back. Some had no trouble believing in an unseen God, others doubted. I was looking for a fool-proof formula that did not exist.<\/p>\n

After all our warnings, some of our bunch still chose poorly, accepting\u00a0potentially<\/em>\u00a0huge consequences.\u00a0Yet God… (don’t you love that phrase) in His mercy, in His grace did what we could never do as parents. He saw their willfulness before birth and chose us to be their parents… counting on our faithfulness to lay a firm foundation, but never limited by our faults and weaknesses. Wow<\/p>\n

Oh how silly I was to wonder where we went wrong and how we could’ve done it better. God\u00a0was perfect and His children rebelled<\/em>. He knew we were totally unprepared for what we were walking through. Yet, He was not surprised by each turn of events… He even saw far beyond what we slowly became aware of.<\/p>\n

His plan is constant. His steps are sure. God never expected me to be anything other than what I was. He only needed my willingness to let Him have control. He’s used us in all our weakness<\/em> to show His strength. It’s through<\/em>\u00a0all the inabilities that He has done His most amazing work! So,\u00a0I can drop the guilt.<\/p>\n

In spite of our mess-ups He is creating unique individuals that will yield to Him of their\u00a0own free\u00a0will<\/em>. I can not take credit, nor my husband. When our children come through on the other side, it will be all His doing<\/strong>. I hope this is\u00a0an encouragement to anyone feeling lost over their child.<\/p>\n

My husband and I have walked through some very dark and gut-wrenching days, yet God<\/em> has been faithful. We sought out support in several venues, because we needed understanding and help. God has provided all along the way. He will for you too.\u00a0He is far<\/strong> bigger than I ever gave Him credit… molding hearts that love Him.<\/p>\n

ForGlorySake! –<\/strong> Anna<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n