The Only Thing That Matters

Thanks for your response to yesterday's post!

When at the ball game with our new friends over the weekend, the mom of the special needs kids reminded me that there are only two things that we as parents are responsible for. We must teach our kids that they are loved, and how to know and love our loving God. She gave an example of how her special needs children had made her more relaxed with her typically developing children. She even pulled her older daughter out of advanced classes that were causing stress, because she said, what is the point? Does she really need college credits in high school when this season is meant for her to enjoy?

So I need to remind myself (and maybe you need that reminder too?) of our mission. As mothers, sisters, workers, students. It's to love others, and to love God.

Where this hits home to me is that I get so worried for Israel's future- will he know his abcs one day, will he do well in school or ever get a job? But the truest role that I have as a mom is not to teach him his colors or even manners. It is for my kids to know that they are very loved, and that God loves them even more. This frees me so much! It also gives me joy to see God's grace in our lives because, you know what? I think I'm doing a pretty good job with those tasks. They may not know colors or abcs, but my kids sure do know they are loved.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22: 34-40

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