Magic or Muscle?

June 24, 2019 by  
Filed under Daily Devotions, Family

By Hally Franz –

If I would have had my way, I’d have ended up living in a large city rather than the rural community where I was raised. If the Lord would have liked my plan, I never would have gone into education; I’d be a clinical psychologist today. If I had known better than Him, I wouldn’t have had children. How many of us, as children, expect that life will turn out a certain way, and later find it’s nothing like what we wanted? It’s far better.

When I was young, I didn’t want children. First, the physical aspects of the ordeal were appalling to me. Secondly, I was terrified about how my offspring would turn out. I had this idea that raising children was like roulette, strictly a game of chance. I viewed parenting as something outside one’s control, where a swipe of a magic wand may produce a perfect child. Or, more likely, I could pull a silly looking and simple-minded rabbit-out-of-a-hat kind of kid. Even worse, I’d end up with one under an evil spell, who’d give me years of heartache. I’m not a risk-taking sort of person, and it all seemed too uncertain for me.

Fortunately, as I grew older I got past those thoughts and couldn’t wait to have children once my husband and I married. Over the years, I’ve learned that being a mom is much more about muscle than magic. Moms come in a variety of personalities and styles, but the best ones know there’s no getting around the work.

Ambitious moms are eager for their children to get the tough teacher even though they know they’ll spend more hours at the kitchen table as their children survive that year of homework. Conscientious moms recognize that getting “help” from their little guys on housework takes twice as long; they do it anyway to instill in them a work ethic. Tireless moms attend an excruciating number of concerts, sports events, programs and plays as their children explore areas of interest and hobbies. Christian moms pray with and for their children, and they attend worship. They know this gives young people a sense of purpose and faith for a lifetime.

There’s nothing mystical about parenting. Kids sometimes look silly and often aren’t perfect, but we do have an impact in how they turn out. Blessed be the moms who put in the time, the energy and the prayer!

PRAYER:  Gracious God, encourage diligent moms as they go about the work of raising servants for You. Guide them, give them wisdom and restore them daily.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV).

About Hally Franz

Hally Franz writes about her observations on family and faith, parenting and people. She is a former high school guidance counselor, turned stay-at-home mom. Hally and husband Tim will celebrate twenty years of marriage this year, and have two teens. She is a 4-H leader and band mom, serves as her church secretary and as a Bible class teacher. Hally enjoys traveling with her family and participating in monthly book club meetings with her pals.
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