Surrender

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but only God, who makes things grow. "  1 Corinthians 3:6-7

We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to produce "successful" kids, and there is no question that parenting requires a lot of hard work. But, what exactly is our role in the process? In this passage, Paul explains the role of a teacher. We believe it applies just as well to a family.

Parents are God's representatives in the family, and that role is crucially important. In the end, however, we have to surrender the results to God because He is the One "who causes the growth." He will grow our children into His design. While it is difficult to let go of our design and surrender our kids to God, it is God's will that they grow less and less dependent on us and more dependent on Him.

You cannot force your child to grow up to be a godly person, but you can be a godly parent. Use your children's experiences, your example and gentle exploration to "plant and water" your kids, and surrender the results to God.  God Bless