Protecting Your Child from Mistakes

by Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger

23 Jan 2009 08:11 PM

You can't always protect your children from mistakes. Sometimes you've got to let them go, trusting God to uphold and undertake for them. It's not easy. I know. Letting go is something I struggle with, but I've had to learn to do it. You have to trust that you have brought them up so that ultimately they will make the right choices and not make decisions that will endanger their lives.

It might mean making choices we won't agree with, like dating a non Christian or them becoming involved in activities we would rather they did not or that we disapprove of. Basically all we can do as parents is teach from an early age about right and wrong, about God and His Word, and pray for them. But parenting, even Christian parenting, doesn't come with any guarantees.

I know Christian parents who have watched helplessly as their children in teenage or older years walked away from God and all they have been taught. Some, in God's time have come back. Other parents are still waiting and praying for that to happen.

Basically we need to keep trusting that God knows what He is doing, that He loves our children even more than we do. We might ask questions, we might get angry with God sometimes when things don't work out the way we think they should, when our loved ones are hurt or when a choice our child has taken leads them into trouble. But through it all we need to 'keep on believing.' Because 'one day all our questions will be answered -one day we'll see with God's eyes and understand so much more.'

Continue to pray for them but don't badger them with bible verses. Sometimes a person can be turned further away by a word at the wrong time. Pray for the Holy Spirit's wisdom to know when, how or even if you should speak. Most importantly let's make sure that your life and mine count for God - that we 'receive each day as a gift from him' and not 'fritter it away.'

Please visit these related blogs

Trusting God Despite Hardship

7 Helpful Prayers for Our Children

The Names of God - El Roi

The Pain of Letting Go

Does God Want us to be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise?

Learn more about Dale Harcombe

Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults.

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