Reflections Of A Mother
Reflections Of A Mother
I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.
I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.
I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.
I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.
I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you the facts of life, but I can't build your reputation.
I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.
I can warn you about drugs, but I can't prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.
I can warn you about sins, but I cannot make you moral.
I can love you as a child, but I cannot place you in God's family.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.
This poem struck a cord with me when I first read it several months ago. The author understands the difficult position of the parent who desires to instill godly character into their children while at the same time understanding that ultimately, the result lies in the hands of their offspring. Each child will, Lord willing, grow into adulthood and decide for themselves what their character will be, who they will follow and what choices they will make. What seems so cut and dry when our babies are small, at times becomes an overwhelming realization that we don't have as much control as we once thought we did. There are times when life seems to hang in the balance as we pray and wait to see if our young adults will stay the course and choose to honor Christ.
God give us the wisdom and strength to consistently point our children to you, the only rock."I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4
Source: I'm sorry I don't know the author of the poem, Reflections Of A Mother. It can be located at: http://www.storybin.com/wisdom/wisdom141.shtml
Labels:
Family-Marriage-Parenting,
Mother's Day
11 comments:
Diane, Thank for visiting me and your sweet comments. I love this poem. It has also touched a cord in my heart. I really like your blog, it seems we have much in common, especially our love for our Lord and Saviour. It is nice to meet you. connie from Texas
Oh Diane this is beautiful. Thanks for posting it. Being the mother of 4 adult children I can say AMEN and say that mine have not always chosen as I hoped they would......BUT (and it's a big but) GOd is faithful!!!!
Susan
The Butler's Wife Becky directed me to your site today. I'm so glad she did. This poem really speaks my heart right now. It puts it all neatly into a package with a bow. I so want to put my daughter in a box and keep her there, but God has shown me that it is time to let her go. We have done our best to train her well. Now it is time for her to find out if she can stand on her own. The prayers will never stop and our door will never be closed.
Diane, Thank for visiting me and your sweet comments. I am not a parent but I know my mother so prayed and worried about me growing up. I thank God for praying parents.
Have a blessed week.
Beautiful, Diane...so wonderfully written!
And wow, do I appreciate my own mother so incredibly more since having my first child nearly eight years ago. The saying that it changes everything is so true...but it also changes us. It's rewarding but difficult...and so glad that I have the Lord to rely on to help me with this wonderful, challenging role!
And as you implied in this post, sometimes letting go in areas can be the hardest part!
Beautiful poem. I love it.
How true this poem is. The old saying in a nutshell. "You can take a horse to water but yu cannot make it drink" Such hard lessons for us Mum's to learn.
That poem is beautiful. I'm not a mother yet, but I've seen so many of these things and lessons lived out through me and my mom. Thanks for sharing.
This poem really spoke to my heart ~ thank you so much for sharing it. You have a beautiful blog home and it was so nice to get to "meet" you, Diane:o)
Wow! What a great post! It *is* quite the challenge to raise our children for the Lord--and then leave the results between the Lord and our children.
This is such a great reminder to just keep doing what's right and best as a parent, and keep trusting in the Lord that our kids will make good decisions in life. There aren't any guarantees on how your kids turn out, I guess that's good reason to stay on our knees.
Post a Comment