I am always praying for my sons’ futures. I pray for wisdom to guide them each day in the hopes that as adults they will experience freedom in Christ. I desperately want each of them to have a personal and deeply fulfilling relationship with God. I did not think about the “eternal” aspect of that goal though.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that woever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” ~ John 3:16-17
The amazing thing for me as I read through this chapter is that this is an area that has been heavy on my heart. Especially for my almost 12 year old son. He is showing signs of entering some turbulent years as puberty is quickly approaching. I have tried to keep things simple and carefree for him over the years, not pushing him to grow up any quicker than absolutely necessary. Regardless of this fact though, I am finding that children seem to put a lot of pressure on themselves based on other things that are going on around them during these years.
It is written:
“And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may
abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with
you and will be in you.” ~ John 14:16-17
In four days I will officially have 3 tweens – ugh – ages 8, 9 and almost 12! I want the best for them and their futures (every mother’s dream), I want them to experience joy and happiness and not be weighed down with the cares of this world, but I can’t protect them from that. All I can do is pray and over the years it has not been my first stop. I am just now learning how to go to Him with my cares and worries and still often catch myself trying to take them on and solve them on my own. We all know that will get me nowhere and that I need to “let go and let God”!
So, although I will continue to pray for their future – love, happiness, finances, home, family, etc. – I will definitely focus on the one thing that truly matters (and frankly affects all the other things) their eternal future and walk with God.
Have you always prayed for your children’s eternal future? Do you find yourself trying to fix things instead of giving it back to God? Is the future a scary thing for you or do you look forward to it?