Night Light for Parents- December 17, 2020

Our Girl by Max Lucado Jenna, wake up. It's time to go to school." She will hear those words a thousand times in her life. But she heard them for the first time this morning. I sat on the edge of the bed for a while before I said them to her. To tell the truth, I didn't want to say them. I didn't want to wake her. A queer hesitancy hung over me as I sat in the early morning blackness. As I sat in silence, I realized that my words would awaken her to a new world. For four lightning-fast years she'd been ours, and ours alone. And now that was all going to change. We put her to bed last night as "our girl"—exclusive property of Mommy and Daddy. Mommy and Daddy read to her, taught her, listened to her. But beginning today, someone else would, too. Until today, it was Mommy and Daddy who wiped away the tears and put on the Band-Aids. But beginning today, someone else would, too. I didn't want to wake her. Until today, her life was essentially us—Mom, Dad, and baby sister Andrea. Today that life would grow—new friends, a teacher. Her world was this house—her room, her toys, her swing set. Today her world would expand. She would enter the winding halls of education—painting, reading, calculating…becoming. I didn't want to wake her. Not because of the school. It's a fine one. Not because I don't want her to learn. Heaven knows I want her to grow, to read, to mature. Not because she doesn't want to go. School has been all she could talk about for the last week! No, I didn't want to wake her up because I didn't want to give her up. But I woke her up anyway. I interrupted her childhood with the inevitable proclamation, "Jenna, wake up—it's time to go to school." It took me forever to get dressed. My wife, Denalyn, saw me moping around and heard me humming "Sunrise, Sunset" and said, "You'll never make it through the wedding." She's right. We drove two cars to Jenna's school so that I could go directly to work. I asked Jenna to ride with me. I thought I should give her a bit of fatherly assurance. As it turned out, I was the one needing assurance. For one dedicated to the craft of words, I found very few to share with her. I told her to enjoy herself. I told her to obey her teacher. I told her, "If you get lonely or afraid, tell your teacher to call me and I'll come and get you." "Okay," she said, and smiled. Then she asked if she could listen to a tape with kids' music. "Okay," I said. So while she sang songs, I swallowed lumps. I watched her as she sang. She looked big. Her little neck stretched as high as it could to look over the dash. Her eyes were hungry and bright. Her hands were folded in her lap. Her feet, wearing brand-new turquoise and pink tennis shoes, barely extended over the seat. What is she thinking? I wondered. Does she know how tall this ladder of education is that she will begin to climb this morning? No, she didn't. But I did. How many chalkboards will those eyes see? How many books will those hands hold? How many teachers will those feet follow and—gulp—imitate? Were it within my power, I would have, at that very instant, assembled all the hundreds of teachers, instructors, coaches, and tutors that she would have over the next eighteen years and announced, "This is no normal student. This is my child. Be careful with her!" As I parked and turned off the engine, my big girl became small again. But it was the voice of a very little girl that broke the silence. "Daddy, I don't want to get out." I looked at her. The eyes that had been bright were now fearful. The lips that had been singing were now trembling. I fought a Herculean urge to grant her request. Everything within me wanted to say, "Okay, let's forget it and get out of here." For a brief, eternal moment I considered kidnapping my own daughters, grabbing my wife, and escaping these horrid paws of progress to live forever in the Himalayas. But I knew better. I knew it was time. I knew it was right. And I knew she would be fine. But I never knew it would be so hard to say, "Honey, you'll be all right. Come on, I'll carry you." And she was all right. One step into the classroom and the cat of curiosity pounced on her. And I walked away. I gave her up. Not much. And not as much as I will have to in the future. But I gave her up as much as I could today. Looking ahead… I'm convinced that mothers and fathers in North America are among the best in the world. We care passionately about our kids and will do anything to meet their needs. But we are among the worst when it comes to letting go of our sons and daughters. In fact, those two characteristics are linked. The same commitment that leads us to do so well when the children are small (dedication, love, concern, involvement) also causes us to hold too tightly as they grow up. We forget that the process of releasing our children must be a gradual one. With each stage, we let go just a little more. And when the time comes for your grown children to leave the shelter of home, you must let go completely. Your role after that point is to continue to pray every day, holding up your son or daughter before the Lord as he or she makes those first halting steps into adulthood, and to be available when asked for advice. But your son or daughter will own his or her decisions in the future. I will admit to my own difficulties in this area. Before our kids were born, I understood that I would one day need to turn them loose. I wrote extensively on the subject while they were still young. But when the time came to open my hand and let the birds fly, I struggled mightily! I loved the experience of fatherhood and was not ready to give it up. As your children mature, you too will be challenged to open your hand. It is a matter of trusing them—and of trusting God: "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:4). It may not be easy, but when we release our children into the care of our loving Father, we allow them to fulfill His perfect plan for the rest of their days. - James C Dobson From Night Light For Parents, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. "Our Girl" by Max Lucado. From Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1989). Used by permission.

Bible Gateway Recommendations

Buy Now Night Light for Parents: A Devotional Did you find this devotional helpful and inspiring? Read the book for more!

Copyright Information These devotionals are drawn from Night Light for Parents by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson. For more information or to buy a print copy, see Night Light for Parents. Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact us. *Manage all Bible Gateway subscriptions —  *Opt Out of all Bible Gateway communication the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally James Dobson Want to buy James Dobson books on Alibris? Want to buy Shirley Dobson books on Alibris?

have you asked for it?

Know that when you pray, God hears more than you say, answers more than you ask, and gives more than you imagine in His time and in His way. - Chrystal Evans Hurst, The 28-Day Prayer Journey The 28-Day Prayer Journey: Ask Learning to Request with Confidence by Chrystal Evans Hurst, The 28-Day Prayer Journey Editor's Note: Have you heard the news? The 28-Day Prayer Journey is our next community OBS starting in the new year and we couldn't be more excited! This study is for anyone who may be struggling with distraction, doubt, or just wanting to awaken their prayer life in 2021! It's one of the richest studies I've ever experienced dedicated to the topic of prayer — I know you'll love it! Here's a sneak peek excerpt from the book, and don't forget to sign up to join us starting January 18th! We want you with us! ~ Laurie McClure Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. - Jesus to the disciples, in John 16:24   MORNING MEDITATION   Today we are bravely praying big and bold prayers to God!       What would you ask God to do in your life, or in the life of another, if you believed He would do it? What would you ask God for if you weren't afraid to take a chance on the impossible? Often I find that we pray safe prayers because we don't want to be disappointed if God doesn't answer.   If we're single and would like to be married, we may fear asking God for the desires of our hearts because we fear God might not answer.     If we're suffering from an illness or an injury or a disease, we fail to come before God boldly because we reason, "Who am I to be healed when others continue to suffer?"   If we want to see the salvation of a loved one — a child, a sibling, a parent — we may stop asking God to grab hold of our loved one because we can't imagine how God could possibly answer our prayer.     Jesus chided several people for having little faith. Check it out for yourself: Matthew 6:30; Matthew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Matthew 16:8; Matthew 17:20.     Don't miss out on the purposes and plans that God has for you because you don't exercise faith and ask Him to intervene in your everyday life. But don't fail to experience His intervention because you are too busy praying outside of His will either.     Don't know what to pray? Need guidance on how to direct your prayers? Here are some simple thoughts to get you going:     1. Read God's Word to know His heart.     2. Train yourself to do what His Word tells you to do.     3. Seek to think and act in ways that honor God and bring Him glory.     4. Pray — talk to God often — and believe that He hears.     Okay, friend. Take a deep breath. Now, what would you dare to ask, for yourself or someone else, if you actually believed God would answer?     Pick the one thing — the thing you don't ask for because you don't think you deserve it, the thing that, in a million years, you don't believe you can have, the thing you're afraid you won't ever receive. And pray for that. You are worth it.     Don't just pray about what's logical and possible. Pray hard about the impossible. God will show you that nothing, nothing, nothing is impossible with Him. Ever. Period. End of story.     PRAYER PROMPT     Dear God, I ask that You would ____________ . Help me to believe. Help my unbelief.     Write each of your bold requests in your journal.     [The book includes daily journaling pages].   *   AFTERNOON REFLECTION     To us, waiting is wasting. To God, waiting is working. ~ Louie Giglio, pastor    I know what many of you were thinking after this morning's prayer prompt. "But I have been asking God to move in a particular way, and He hasn't answered yet! It's been forever!"     My friend, I speak to you as I speak to myself. That thought is real and it can be frustrating, but that's not the most important thing. The important thing is whether you choose, as you wait, to still trust Him, love Him, believe in Him, wait for Him, serve Him, honor Him, and glorify Him every day that you get to live on this earth.     Will you be bold enough to ask and fearless enough to wait and to keep asking, if necessary? At the end of the day, our desires should never eclipse our determination to grow more in love with the Man who gave His life for us. If you get tired of waiting, remember this: He is always your answer. Any other desire you have should only point you back to Him. So pray boldly and without fear, but enjoy the waiting room, because it simply gives you more time to focus on your relationship with Him.     We are in the second half of the day. The Word says that in this world you will have trouble (John 16:33). I bet at this time of day, someone is finding that to be true! But we also see that David, a man after God's own heart, didn't just have trouble, he took his difficulties to the Lord in prayer.     I took my troubles to the Lord;  I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.  – Psalm 120:1 NLT    Take a moment to tell God about your day. Do you know someone else who's having a hard time? Talk to God about them too. God has been watching. He's omniscient, remember? But He doesn't want simply to know about your day or the day of someone you care about. He wants to be involved in your day as you share your highs and lows with Him. He wants you to intervene in the life of another because you took the time to care in prayer. So pause right now and have a little chat with Him.     PRAYER PROMPT     Dear God, can we talk? Today/this week/this month/this year has been really hard for me or my family or friend because _______ .     *   EVENING INSPIRATION    Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?     We talk about what's wrong, what we want, or what we wish we could change. But the question is do we pray about it as much as we talk about it? We will call up a friend in a second, share our two cents' worth on Facebook, or even talk to ourselves under our breath! But do we have the habit of taking everything to God in prayer? Today, and for the remainder of this week, make a concerted effort to talk to God more than you talk to others about what concerns you. Be challenged to spend more time in His Word than you do on social media. Be determined to rehearse externally and internally only what God says about a matter (instead of how you feel about it). And watch Him change how you see your life and how you see the world.     As you near the end of the day, lay down the things you hold so tightly that they hurt you. If you struggle to make requests of God and then leave them there, that's okay. Your ability to release your concerns is a function of the depth of your relationship with Him. Until then, write down your concerns that threaten to morph into worry. Keep writing them down until they no longer tie your head and your heart into knots.     Lay down tonight, knowing that you have done your part to make your request known. Now trust God to do His.   And when you offer your prayers to God in the quiet place, where it's only the two of you, don't be afraid to pray those big bold prayers.    Excerpted with permission from The 28-Day Prayer Journey by Chrystal Evans Hurst, copyright Chrystal Evans Hurst.    Your Turn What are you praying for? Come on, think big! Ask big! I am! Come share with us what and who is on your list. AND, join us for the Online Bible Study starting January 18th. It's going to revolutionize our prayer lives! ~ Laurie Leave Comment Awaken Your Prayer Life in 2021 Are you ready? This could be the most important thing you do in the New Year!    Join our next OBS... The 28-Day Prayer Journey with Chrystal Evans Hurst LEARN MORE

Faith.Full ~ the women's newsletter at FaithGateway Our mission is to help you grow and share your faith

Copyright © 2020 HarperCollins Christian Publishing,  All Rights Reserved.
501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN  37214  USA
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy

*Manage Your Email Preferences or *Unsubscribe

 

 Subscription Information

This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog 

*the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally