What a blessing it was to hear from Leona. There were so many gems and nuggets of wisdom for all of us in the church family, no matter where you are in your walk of faith.
As Leona was sharing, she concluded with 2 very powerful statements that I believe are instrumental in who we are as a Kingdom Family.
Come As You Are
This entire year we have been focusing on Kingdom Parenting – in our focus we sometimes forget about being a Kingdom Child. Every father is a son, every mother is a daughter, every parent is a child.
As we lean into God, in trying to grasp what Kingdom Parenting is for this family, we need to remember that we too were once children and we are still children of Father God today. Children require love. No matter how dirty, how naughty, how disobedient children can be – they require love. Children require grace and mercy. We demand responsibility – we tell them to not play video games – but we turn and look at our phones.
Children are not perfect – but neither are parents. At Lifespring we must always remember that grace received, must always be grace given.
Love Until It Hurts
Parenting is hard. On stage, when Justus was asked what you would change about your parents, he said, “they need to be smarter”. Aww…. Come on boy!
3 of our girls are sick with coughs and fevers. There are about 3 loads of laundry and 5 loads that still need to be folded. Kids have cavities. Boy got in trouble at school. Girl complains she doesn’t have enough shoes. Aww…. come on!!
Kingdom Parenting is hard. To love when it is uncomfortable. To love beyond your own ability. To love the different. To love what the world calls unlovable. To love your enemies. Aww…. come on!!
Father God, the ultimate parent showed us the way. He gave His one and only son, that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. The very thought and idea of losing one of my children is devastating, yet God gave His while we were still enemies. God & Jesus loves us even when it hurts.
To be a Kingdom Parent we must also be a Kingdom Child. It is not one or the other, it is simultaneous (at the same time). A mystery of the Kingdom, yet a secret of being the huios (mature son).