Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

Dear God, I got to see an old friend for a few minutes yesterday and part of our conversation was about being a dad. We both expressed our joys and our disappointments. I think both of us had very, very high expectations for how things would work out and what decisions our children would make. It feels like you are shaping us into a greater understanding that we have to trust that there are things going on that we don’t see or understand. We have to pray for what we want, make the best decisions we can out of that communication with you a d then put our faith in you for the outcomes.

Thinking about Joseph and Mary, I wonder how their parents felt about them and how their lives were turning out. What? You’re (She’s) pregnant? You’re staying in Bethlehem? Your going to Egypt? I doubt the “holy family’s” lives were going the way their families had hoped.

Father, help me to truly bless my children. Now that they are out of the house, help me to be what they need, to look to you for their lives and to have faith that my prayers are making a difference regardless of what I see in the physical world. Help them to both be submitted and you and fill them each with the freedom and peace that comes from laying down their lives and following you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen