Hey Mama Monday: Mama, We Are Dust

Hey Mama,

God’s Word teaches us that we are weak in nature. Our frame is dust. But out of His kindness and understanding, He recognizes our frailties. Still, He has given us His Word. We are responsible to read it, to apply it, to pick up our cross and follow Him, to strive for holiness, to close our mouths instead of always running them off, to listen, and to be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

And we are dust. Weak. Imperfect.

That’s what I love about nature and science. It reminds me that I am nothing . . . and HE is everything! Just as you test different compounds in science to see how they react to each other, God is continually testing us. And God’s Word tells us to test ourselves, too, to make sure we are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

What a parent God is! What patience! He tests us, yes. Trials will come. But in them, our character will be strengthened. The goal is to have the mind of Christ. It’s what we desire for our own children too. So, we allow them to face trials. We work with them. We have heart talks. By God’s grace, we carry on.

And when you struggle with homeschooling or need ideas on how to teach science, find some practical (free) help in the pages of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. (Read it free anytime at www.TOSMagazine.com.)

Actively Developing the Next Generation of Creation Scientists

Kitchen Lab: Edible Experiments and Other Mad Scientist Recipes

Muddy Hands—Encouraging Little Scientists in Your Backyard

Also know this, Mama. . .

Your children will utterly fail sometimes. They are a work in progress; so resist the temptation to think they have arrived.

You are setting yourself up for disappointment or potential anger if you do.

Think about your own walk with the Lord. He is the perfect parent. There is no One more patient, kind, compassionate, or merciful, right? His instruction is pure. His Word is clear. Yet we have stumbled repeatedly as new baby Christians . . . and even still as seasoned ones.

Walking with the Lord now for over thirty years, I am sometimes perplexed by my lack of understanding. My failures. When will I ever learn? Why can’t I love my Savior better, obey faster, pray more emphatically, and always do what I know is right?

But it’s easy to think our children should “get it” by now, right? They should make all the right choices. They’ve been told how to behave! We’ve been over this . . . twenty-plus times and counting.

Mama, plan on them blowing it. Plan on the occasional bad day. Plan to be shocked sometimes. Your children, as mentioned, are an ongoing work in progress. Just as the Lord lovingly waits for us to mature, wait for your children—and pray!

When the bad days come, stay the course. It doesn’t mean giving up, any more than the Lord gives up on us. He sets us right: we repent and start again.

Insist on moving forward with your children, but keep it balanced. Maybe it’s time to change up the schedule, put some of the school work away, and just get into the kitchen and whip up a bakery-fest. Or build forts in the living room together. Break out the modeling clay and be Rodin for the afternoon. Relationship. It’s what they will remember.

They are flesh, bone, and blood . . . imperfect. Small frames. Dust. Mini versions of you and me. Smile instead of crumpling at the chaos. No crisis will ensue just because you take a free day of fun with these young souls. In fact, you may just avert one because of your willingness to let the Lord redirect your steps.

As always, weak Mama, yet strong Mama in Christ, because He does it ALL . . . His hand is on your head today.

“ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” Psalm 103:14.

-gena