Thursdays in the Truth: 'Tis the Season

Seasons are my favorite!  I’m not talking about the two seasons we have here in Phoenix: Warm and Lake of Burning Fire Hot.  No, I like the good old four seasons of my youth; cold, kind of warm, hot, and kind of cool.  There are such wonderful things about each of the four seasons.  Different wardrobe, different vistas, different activities, different joys.  Because of that, you have to prepare for each season.  The wrong wardrobe could make your season rather uncomfortable.  Each season has the potential for its own special type of storm.  Kind of like life.  If I’m brutally honest, I don’t have the same love for all of the seasons in life.  (Great lead-in, right?)

This time last year, I knew a new season was on the horizon and I needed to batten down the hatches of my heart.  This storm threatened to rip my sweet, momma heart into shreds.  You see, my little baby girl who, in my mind was still two and telling me she loved me “this much”, was actually getting ready for her senior year of high school.  We were on a collision course with a time when we wouldn’t be able to tuck her in at night, or see her on the other side of the dinner table, or catch a glimpse of her as she raced out to get to school on time.  I stubbornly tried to dig my feet into the ground to keep time from continuing to pass.  It wasn’t pretty.  I spoke to a wise woman who shared that God has his own way of preparing your heart for this season.  She said that in his infinite wisdom, God makes teenagers “irritating” to the point where your heart is ready for them to venture out of the nest (possibly with a little shove for good measure).  I thought surely she didn’t love her child as much as I loved mine.  I’m just going to be honest.  The ever quoted verse, Proverbs 22:6 says “Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  That’s all fine and dandy on paper but in real life it is way harder than you can imagine.  At least that is what I thought then.

Fast forward to April of my daughter’s senior year.  By golly if God had not worked his same magic on my heart.  I was happy to help her plan her move to the dorms.  I already had plans for her room.  As in, I drew an HGTV-worthy floorplan.  I’m not proud.  But yeah, that happened. Today my heart is somewhere in between.  We are moving her into her dorm in less than two weeks. 

I searched the Bible for something, anything, that would help in this season.  It all came back down to prayer.  At some point we all have to hand our kids over to God and pray.  I prayed continually as Paul instructs urges us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  And you know what?  He has already answered some of those prayers.  I am so thankful that regardless of the season, God has my back.  After all, she’s His daughter first.

The following are some of the verses that I pray over my children (a little more fervently over my oldest as she becomes an adult):

Romans 12:2 (to stand out from the world)

1 Thessalonians 5:6 (to not be like everyone around them)

Colossians 2:6-7 (to continue to grow in Christ)

What verses do you pray over your children? Please leave yours in the comments below to share with everyone.