Being Prepared

Parenting can be a whirlwind at times! Whew!

My husband and I are in the midst of raising two daughters—a 17 year old and a 12 year old tween (who in 3 short months will turn 13). With the raising of teens, I know that some of you are in the same boat with me, some have yet to sail this boat, and others have been out of the boat for a while.

Life is busy to say the least; homeschooling the youngest (I shared about coming to that decision in last month’s blog) and preparing the oldest to launch out into life on her own. We love our girls dearly, but parenting certainly has its challenges. If it were not for the peace of Christ I would have become discouraged a long time ago. Can any of you relate?

With a senior in high school, the college prep process is in full swing. Applications, enrollment fees, transcripts, ACT/SAT exams, essays, recommendations, financial aid forms, and deadlines are all part of the hectic college journey, as I am sure many of you already know. And just as we have been preparing our first-born for college, I am reminded of a spiritual reality...that we as daughters of God also have a preparation process.

Of course, the very first and most important part of God’s process is salvation. He has saved us for a purpose. He has prepared us to be wives, and those of us who are pastor’s/minister’s wives have been through a preparation process that is unique to our role. We serve and support in a way that ministers to our husbands and to the wonderful families that are in our various churches.

He has prepared us to be parents; we are called to raise our children “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 We are to model Christ before them with the Lord’s help, since we are by no means perfect and we do make mistakes. Yet what a blessing it is to pass along our legacy of faith to the next generation; and for those of you sisters who are grandparents, you have a third generation of tender souls to share Christ with.

We are prepared to be caregivers; many of you have elderly loved ones who totally depend on you for all of their needs. You certainly cannot serve in that capacity unless the Lord prepares and strengthens you.

We are prepared to be lights in our world, whether on jobs, in neighborhoods, or others facets of the community; we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13-16 We are only able to accomplish these tasks through the Spirit who empowers and prepares us for all the roles that we live out day after day. Praise God for the Holy Spirit!

So, when we take our daughter off to school around this time next year, prayerfully she will have been prepared. She can settle into her dorm room and into her new schedule knowing that the preparation process is complete. I am also praying that the Lord will prepare my heart to let her go!

One day as we see our Master’s face and settle into our heavenly home, may we all hear Him say “well done”, knowing that we have been prepared by His grace to spend a glorious eternity with Him.