The Most Important Thing We Will Give Our Children During These Growing Up Years

I had SUCH a strong inclination to just pull the covers up over my head this morning and HIDE AWAY from all of my duties. It was just one of those Mondays.

But then I put one foot in front of the other and tried to enjoy each task. Starting with an extra long cuddle/visit time with Sophia. There’s just something so sweet about those early morning hours when everyone else is asleep and we can talk nose-to-nose under the covers.

I was also truly blessed and encouraged when a good friend emailed me about something I need to pick up at her home today. Rather than just coordinating times, we ended up having a sweet, real-life exchange about what really matters in life. I thought a portion of our exchange might encourage you too, so here it is:

“Can I stop by a Mountain Mudd and pick you up some sort of chai tea healthy something??? 🙂

Many pockets of chaos are yelling at me, but I keep thinking of what one of our elders often says:

“Clutter is faithful. It will be there for you when you have time to address it.”

Clutter IS faithful! What a good reminder. Disorder is still not my favorite, but life is life. We can only do our best.”

And that’s the message I hope you can preach to yourself today (and every day) re: parenting your children. I know you know this already, so it’s just a reminder … but the most important thing we will give our children during these growing up years is an abiding, overarching sense of our neediness for God’s saving grace and His sufficient, abundant, eternal love for His children because of the incarnation, perfect righteousness, substitutionary death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Latin is great.
French is amazing.
Math is hard but fascinating. Ditto for Chemistry.
Ella’s addicted to logic attributes now, too. So fun!
History is interesting.
 School is cool.

But the education that will really prepare our children for life—whether they live 15 years or 105 years—is that God is real, we are sinners, God’s Word is True, Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit really does live in our hearts by faith, and one day, we will go Home to be with God forever—or Jesus will split the sky in two in glory.

In between, today, during the “already but not yet”—we work. We love. We try and succeed. We try and fail. We live life.

But this world is not our home. We live for the things of eternal worth.

So maybe? Given the state of stress and exhaustion and hard things you and your kiddos are facing? Maybe it’s a good day to not have A++’s in academics, music, and sports, but instead to spend a little extra time cuddling, talking, connecting, listening, praying, crying, laughing.

We can take their math lessons into another year if we need to—but we only have this one day to enter into their lives, know their hearts, and share (age appropriately) the blessings and burdens in our own hearts too.

Big hugs to you from the Barthel home!

Your prayerful friend who is cheering you on!
Tara B.

[A re-post from 2013]