It Hurts Parents to See Their Children Unhappy

I am not a parent, but I am a child.  I am not a parenting expert or an expert child, but I do have some experience with this thing called “Life”.

Hardened Hearts

Most teenagers feel like their parents are “out to get them” or are keeping them fro

m being able to do things.  Small children feel like they do not get anything from their parents.  I think the following e-card about sums it up:

Life has a way of putting people through things that causes hearts to harden.  This hardening causes us to miss what is right in front of us.  It causes us to become unable to see things for how they truly are.

The heart misses the fact that there are people who love you so much that they would give up everything to make you happy.  This kind of love is unconditional and is not easily broken.  This is the love that a parent has for a child.

Life effects everyone in different ways and sometimes life can cause people to close themselves off from the ones who love us most.  As young adults or teenagers, we let the thoughts of others influence how we feel about our parents.  Letting these thoughts cause animosity or dislike for our family.  These things may be true or they might even been falsehoods.  Once the mind believes it the heart follows closely behind.  Leaving it hardened and withdrawn.

Even though the heart is hardened and the mind is convinced that the child “hates” or “dislikes” his/her parents, the parents never changed from being the people that he/she adored as a small child.  Outside influences change us and there is no way of avoiding that fact.  These influences are “Life” and sometimes things happen that are very painful or hard to deal with.

Perfection?

No one is prefect, no family is perfect, but in God’s eyes

we are all perfect.

Sometimes, when a hardened heart is developed it is missed that we are all imperfect and it is for our imperfections that God sent his only son to die for our sins.

Sometimes our hard heart covers up the truth and we miss everything.

Protecting our Hearts – Wilderness Deception – Mosses 15

I have been watching these connect the dot Bible studies by Lisa Liazure.  There is particular study I have been listening, and I hadn’t in a while, that is called “The Wilderness Deception”.   This is a study about Moses and he trials and tribulations that he, himself, and the Israelites went through in the desert.

God comes to us in many ways and for me it as been through these online studies.  I started this post and went back to started to listen to it last week.  Lesson 15 talks about protecting our hearts from being hardened.

Here is a link to the lesson on YouTube: Protecting our Hearts

Here is a link to Lisa’s handout that goes with the study so you can follow along with the scripture and have some notes to help guide you.

Here is a link to the Women’s Bible Study website.  She has many, many more studies and special guests.  This Bible Study has truly helped me to grow my relationship with God.

Let’s Open our Hearts and Minds

I pray that all who read this open their minds and hearts to God’s love and purpose.  God has a purpose for all of us and love for all of us. We cannot receive either His love or purpose without first opening up our hearts and minds.

I pray that my post helps to soften hearts and open them to love from God and to love from Parents to a child.  God’s love is strong, but so is the love of a parent.  I pray that my post reaches those who need it most.

In Jesus’s name, I pray all these things and more, Amen.