Faith is powerful! But the problem is fear is powerful too. Why? Because it centers on Me, Myself &I (MMI), our fallen, broken nature that thinks the world revolves around ME, that I have to fix everything MYSELF, and if I don’t take care of myself no one else will…see all these are lies the real enemy has been surrounding us with from the moment we are born. He hisses in our ear that MMI has to be in control of everything, or MMI will not get what MMI wants. Then we stress about everything! And fear quickly follows, stealing our peace.
For babies MMI is a necessity, so that they can communicate with their parents. But they learn very quickly how to get the attention of his parents to get whatever it is they want, right? If he wants to eat, get his dirty diaper changed, is tired or just wants to be held, he is going to cry, and watch how his parents come running to his aid! But if he is just bored or wants them to fuss all over him, he will cry too…a lot!
No, we do not have to teach our children how to be self-centered, that comes naturally to them. What is just about the first thing that comes out of their mouths? “MINE!” Children must be taught how to share, that everything is not theirs, that the world does not revolve around them. We must teach them how to trust that their parent is doing everything that is best for them, even if the parents’ timing is not the same as the baby’s. It is always a difficult lesson for new parents to learn, but we are not teaching our baby anything good when we run to fill their every need, the second they cry.
AFTER we make sure they are safe, fed, clean, rested and have had healthy interactions, like holding or playing with them for a while, we must learn from God about how to teach our children about real peace too. Peace comes from inside, not just the outside. After all, getting everything we want, when we want it, how we want it, actually leads to more fear and less peace, as we stress out about all these desires.
<>< Peace, Diane
