The Best Family Time Begins Right Here!
“But Jesus called the little children to Him and said to His followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them…” Luke 18:16 ICB
There is no greater hope in a new parent’s heart than knowing, believing and trusting in their Savior, Yeshua Christ…Believing from the depth of the parent soul that the Messiah…the Savior absolutely adores and cherishes little children…our very own children. He loves them more than we do…He called to them…
Let the Little Children Come…
The King of Kings came down to this earth to do some major Kingdom business and His disciples were running interference for Him as He left Galilee and moved into Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed Him and the Pharisees, who were defenders and strict enforcers of The Law, came with their knowledge and their hypocrisy, and their pompous zeal to “test” and to “trap” Him…Yes, He had some major Kingdom business…
Then, new parents came bringing their most precious possessions, their infants, their tiny babies, their little children to present them before this Jesus…this Healer, this Miracle Maker…this Wonder Worker…this man who could place His hands on their tiny ones…their most precious possessions…their children…this man who would touch them with His strong, loving, miracle-making, healing hands.
The disciples were running interference for Him…I’m sure they were dashing about, whispering and desperately shouting at these distracters…even “rebuking” the parents as they pressed in toward the “Lord”..Disciples surely muttering that the Messiah had more important business to tend to at the moment…
“But Jesus called the little children to him and said to the followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these little children. “Luke 18:16 ICB
Yes, the disciples who loved the Lord…who were His advocates, who defended Him, thinking that they were His ambassadors, these men attempted to thwart the foundation of Kingdom Truth…unaware…unintentional as they were.
But Yeshua Christ spoke with His authority…with His powerful Truth…and called out… “Let the little children come…” and, He placed His strong, loving, miracle-making, healing hands upon each child…because they came with Kingdom hearts…
Oh yes…He came for Kingdom business!
The Best Family Time Begins Right Here!
I remember the days of young mother-hood…the days when my laundry piled up higher than the high chair…when the toys were the barricade keeping me from the refrigerator and the stove…(or at least that was my excuse for not cooking)…
Motherhood was staking its claim on my identity…and as wonderful and precious as this new chapter was with the butterfly kisses and the little guy bear hugs…I often found myself overwhelmed by the “new territory”…The new territory which, at the very least, equated the value of the changing of a diaper and packing a picnic lunch, with my previous responsibilities of evaluating a senior research paper or of helping Bill with sponsor proposals…or of negotiating the terms of a Real Estate contract…or of, spending my morning completing my weekly Bible study…regarding every detail…
“But Jesus called the little children to Him and said to His followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them…” Luke 18:16 ICB
I clearly remember mornings when I would wake up at the crack of dawn, before my children escaped from their beds, and I would stumble down the stairs to the screened porch at the ranch where I could sit…sit and listen to the rustle of the tree branches as the morning breeze announced the rising sun, and the birds’ anthem announced the new day. There, I would keep the appointment with God that I had made the evening before. And the evening, before that…and the evening before that…the glorious morning time of peace…of still…and of quiet, except for the gentle rush of the breeze…as it whispered…Those moments were glorious…those moments were perfect.
However, in honesty, it was not always this way.
What happened when our children were much younger and I literally fought them for a moment to run to the restroom…to sometimes sneak my Bible in with me just to read one verse of hope…of truth…of sanity…of promise…? I remember what happened! I remember seeing the little fingers reaching under the door shoving notes or toys as peace offerings…
And, as they were a little older, what happened when I failed to awaken before them and to have that perfectly peaceful quiet and inspired time, one-on-one time with God?
Did that disqualify me from His presence? From His goodness? From His touch? From His willingness to meet me wherever I was? Certainly not…But, I clearly remember how chaotic our mornings were until I, until we, settled down and met with Him…
I have memories of shooing our children away for a few minutes as I frantically tried to ingest a condensed message of Biblical Truth, attempting to make up for the lost time, which I either had lost or had given away to some distraction… …Hmmm, yes, shooing them away… I remember now… The Savior of the world…the Savior of my life…the Savior of my children’s lives…said… “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them…” Luke 18:16 ICB
The Best Family Time Begins Right Here!
Summer time is coming…Yikes! Summer time is here! And what I love is that there are a zillion Family Time opportunities! Opportunities to laugh and to live together as a family! Stepping over the laundry and the toys, and navigating the laughter and the tears…and landing in the middle of it all…
Lesson Learned
Something that I learned is that, sometimes in this life called “mom-hood”, and “grand-hood”… I cannot wait on the perfect moment for my time with my God…In fact, what I have learned is that He invites me to participate with Him when I am alone and the intimacy with our faithful Father is beautiful and powerful. But, in the midst of life with little ones…with teen ones…with grand ones…Our faithful God is present, He is available, He is waiting in the midst of all of the Kingdom business, and even in the “messy” business that is going on in the family, in your family, in my family. The truth is that the “family” was His idea! And He waits politely for His invitation…and He always keeps appointments! I think that He is asking us to just show up…by ourselves and He is asking us to show up with our children…But, no doubt, to always show up with our hearts.
I have learned that in the changing of the diapers…He is present.
In the packing of the picnic lunch…He is present.
In the washing of the clothes…He is present.
In the car-pooling of the teens…He is present.
In the bath-time of the babies…He is present.
Oh yes, I remember that He was the Foot-Washer…
Another Lesson Learned
I remember being an exhausted momma whose husband traveled a great deal in the early years of our family life. I wrestled with making and keeping the appointment with God. Try as I would, mornings were difficult if not impossible because no matter how early I would awake, one of my children would not only wake up, but would have some kind of a mini-emergency, just enough to disrupt the peaceful morning…And, if I tried doing my quiet time at night…well, that certainly did not work because I fell asleep…and then I felt guilty because…well just because.
I was sharing my frustration with an older friend and she asked me if I read bed-time stories to our children? I smiled and said proudly, “Well of course we do!”
To which she asked, “Well, do you get angry or upset if they fall asleep while you are reading to them?”
And I answered her with an emphatic and resounding, “No!” Knowing that this is a major parent victory at the end of the day when you tuck in your angels and deliver the good-night kiss over their sweet, sleeping faces…And, you breathe in those moments, that perfectly beautiful moment…as they are safe…they are peaceful, etching it into your momma memory…I still remember.
That very wise friend then reminded me that our loving God adores for His children to pick up their Bible in the mornings…yes…certainly…but, being the wise, loving, perfect Father…He also loves for His grown children to climb into their beds and begin the bed-time story that He has for them as they hold onto their open Bibles,( just as a child holds onto a well-loved blankie or stuffed animal) then, He lovingly watches as His grown child falls into that peace-filled, perfect sleep, eyes growing weary, and hearts and spirits becoming full…According to the prophet Zephaniah, our Lord “Rejoices over His children with singing…” Hmmmm, that sounds familiar doesn’t it?
And for you wonderful, busy, loving, diaper-changing, laundry happy, carpool driving, busy, loving moms…who are seeking time and fellowship with your Loving Father, just TAKE TIME…whenever…wherever…however…you can…Do your best to make and keep your appointment with Him…
And, make the appointment with Him to bring the whole family…because,
The Best Family Time Begins Right Here!
“But Jesus called the little children to Him and said to His followers, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them…” Luke 18:16 ICB
There is no greater hope in a new parent’s heart than knowing, believing and trusting in their Savior, Yeshua Christ…Believing that from the depth of the parent soul that the Messiah…the Savior, absolutely adores and cherishes little children…our very own children. He loves them more than we do…
He called to them…
Let the Little Children Come…
I pray as your summer begins, that the busy-ness and the business of the day does not hinder you from keeping your appointments with your Father, morning, noon, or night, or bed-time…and, I pray that the busy-ness and the business of the day does not hinder you from showing up with your children, with your family…I pray that you listen with your heart for His voice as it calls out, “Let the little children come. Don’t stop them…” This Healer, this Miracle Maker…this Wonder Worker waits for you to come. …He is waiting to touch you and your precious ones with His strong, loving, miracle-making, healing hands.
Abundant Joy as you spend time with Jesus and with your precious family…
May summer blessings overflow in your family and in your life!
Over the next few weeks we will be offering a Family Devotional with Activities for any age. We invite you to enjoy these devotions with your whole family…we invite you to enjoy them when you are alone with your Messiah. We hope to encourage you, to inspire you, to motivate you, and to empower you as you embrace the wonderful, crazy Summer Time opportunities for memorable and productive Family Time! We are cheering you on!
Print the coloring pages for your kids to color and then put them together to create a fun memory verse booklet!
