Treasures from the Heart…
“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
I clearly remember that desperate feeling of losing control of my children’s time when I sent them off to school. The reality is, we grow to love school, sometimes…and yet, in other moments, we rue the season because it invades our family time! There, I said it! School can become a paradox in our lives…
I confess that I spent time with a dear friend calculating the minutes, the hours, and the days which we parents relinquish as we send our precious ones away from the home court, and, like many of you, we asked the rhetorical question, “When will WE, as their parents, have time to influence them?”
No doubt that our children had the most wonderful opportunities to grow and to develop and to soar, but, honestly, that did not totally satisfy the momma heart and down-right calling to rear, to influence, to love my precious ones…AND, to spend time with them, when I wanted to…Because I said so! HMMMM, perhaps this had more to do with me losing control of time…which I never owned in the first place.
This week, I want to share “Treasures From the Heart” which revolutionized my response to the hours of empty seats in the car, empty chairs at the table, and empty places in my heart…I discovered that giving to my children a treasure from within my heart helped to give me Hope and Power over the new experience of sharing my precious ones with the world in which God intentionally had placed them.
Treasures from MY Heart…
I know what you did! I know that as you packed the lunches, or the snacks for your precious ones, you made sure that the crust was completely removed from the bread slices, the chip compartment was full, but not too full ( so the chips didn’t crunch too much), the pickles were drained so the juice did not leak onto the crust-less sandwich…and you packed your child’s favorite dessert into its compartment…THEN, you took their napkin and the sharpie, and wrote…”I LOVE YOU…MOM”, OOOOPS, I think you probably had to throw the first napkin away because of the pickle juice that leaked; or honestly, were those your tears? I know…I had to throw many napkins away, and start my momma message over.
We learn as moms that when we share something from our heart which will give them hope and power, they become encouraged…filled with courage! When I could not go with them, when it was best that I did not try to occupy the desk next to them in their kindergarten class, or their freshman English class, or in a college class… God showed me how to give to my precious ones, what I truly needed myself. I think God does this very thing for parents…all of the time…He gives us what we need. When I offered them a treasure, a treasure from my heart…it was as if in the giving of the gift, my heart became brave, blessing-filled…fuller, no longer powerless in the face of the emptiness of the little buddy being some place other than at my side, or in the car-seat, or booster, or at the table for lunch.
Treasures from the Heart…the Gift that Keeps on Giving
Treasures from the Heart are the secrets which your Heavenly Father whispers to you for you to share with your precious ones…The promises in His Word which He has highlighted for you, your family and your precious ones…These treasures are big, and beautiful, and bold, those which surpass the knowledge they receive in the classroom, no matter how wonderfully fabulous their teachers are! These are treasures you whisper into their ears before they board the bus, or during the car ride on the way to school, or on the way to college… and these are gifts that keep on giving, and giving, and giving, through-out their life-times!
SING IT-So they will know…
“I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 104:33
We drove the fifteen-twenty minute drive to pre-school and kindergarten and first grade… The treasures in my heart were the children’s praise songs which were hope-filled and power-packed messages that also resonated in my own heart. Much of my growth of loving praise came from the cheerful, truth-filled songs, we sang together, sometimes shouting the words! I know that their faith and joy planted seeds in my heart. And when they walked into their day, into their classrooms, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that their little hearts were brimming over…overflowing with the incredible beauty and truth of praise moments.
This summer, I have been listening and singing to children’s praise songs with my grands, instead of watching a movie (sorry Peppa) turning up the music really loud. And honestly for the last month, I confess…I have listened when I am alone in my car…turning the volume up…and yes, singing at full capacity! You see, these Treasures, are the gifts our children and grands carry with them wherever they go…whenever they go…they are the seeds of faith…seeds of the power… seeds of hope in their Mighty God.
Today, tomorrow…you will carefully, lovingly pack the lunches, write momma-love-notes, sing songs of praise with joy, conviction, hope, with power, and of course, you will pray with them, reminding them that God has given them a spirit of power, love and self-control! And, I pray for you to know and believe that when you give these gifts to your precious ones, they are gifts which will keep on giving today, for each day of the school year…year after year…into their teenage hearts, their adult hearts…into eternity.
And remember precious moms and grands, something beautiful and miraculous occurs. In the giving of the gifts, your hearts become brave, power-filled, and blessing-filled…more than ready, equipped and empowered to do it again tomorrow and the next…and the next…
I pray as you step into your days, your hearts are filled and over-flowing with the confidence and courage to keep doing your job. And, I know you can because your Almighty God keeps on giving and giving…and you my friends, have been designed and created for such a time as this, loved and adored by your Heavenly Father! Yes, there is such blessing in the giving!
Abundant and overflowing joy,
