"Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, His wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." Psalm 107:23-30

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

from the mouths of babes

This evening my husband and I finished singing "Silent Night" to our boys and I left the three oldest boys' room to go tuck the baby in. I sat on the floor nursing and my husband came in chuckling.

He had stayed behind as our 4 yr old asked him for something and our son said, "Daddy I'm really sorry I was whining so much about my brother's new toys today. (Today was our now 3 yr old's birthday.) It's so hard when they're SO new and SO cool. But I know that toys are not important. Food is important. People are important too. And Jesus is important."

I had to laugh hard. He definitely is a boy. ;)

Our 4 yr old has been really struggling with coveting and stealing toys from his brothers lately. Each time we've disciplined and given words of reproof and correction and really spent time dealing with his heart...loving him, affirming him in his faith and salvation, and my husband has offered absolution each and every time.

At times it has become overwhelming to see such reoccurring sin in one so young...overwhelming because it not only grieves our hearts to worry about his faith and our perceived responsibility there, but also because it points the finger right back to us and our own sin. It's like wearing the sin of 5 people for me: my four sons and myself...and then blaming myself for their sin knowing I bore them in sin...and then to think we've solved the issue only to have him give right in again. I've prayed about it, prayed with him, and reminded him that any time he feels tempted he can come to us and we will help him.

But tonight showed such grace and love from God. HE IS HERE. HE IS WORKING. HE IS TRULY PRESENT IN OUR LIVES. My son is saved. God's Holy Spirit is truly present in his heart and was truly given in his baptism. I have evidence as my son's heart is moved to repentance each night before bed without even a little prompting from us. And when my husband gave absolution he was truly comforted and sighed a little sigh of happy content relief.

A week ago we all got sick with the flu. You know, the real flu, the fever, cold, body ache kind. Well, thank the Lord my husband and I avoided it. Anyways, our poor 4 yr old also gets respiratory distress whenever he gets sick. We were doing around the clock nebulizer treatments trying to keep him out of the ER. One night, in the middle of the night, my husband was up doing a treatment for him and in his half asleep, half dopey albuterol state our son said in a funny drawn out voice (like when someone is waking up from being put under), "Daadd, I'm sorry I took my brother's toy today. It was just so shiny...and so new...and it had so many cool things inside of it. I just wanted it in my pocket."

We had a good chuckle over that one too. His heart is being moved by God's Holy Spirit to repentance at the tender age of 4. And he means it. And he is seeking absolution and help. And I am feeling overjoyed because I am learning that I really am not responsible for his faith. Oh sure, as a parent it is my DUTY to take him to church, to read him the Word, to take him to the Sacraments, and to teach him the faith. But I can rejoice that it is NOT my duty to create faith in Him.

God is faithful, He is here, and He IS DOING IT. Thank you Father for your tender mercy.
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