On Day 5 we talked about Fear. Our fear’s and her fear’s…and the need to let go. “But not only to let go, but to “Let Go and Let God.”
It’s about learning to “Let Go and Let God”….Because ultimately it’s about Him capturing Her Heart…because honestly…. that is the safest place she can ever be!
While we do want to capture the heart of our daughters...what we are really doing is capturing her heart in order to point her back to God.…to her heavenly Father.
Last year we made a decision to begin homeschooling our daughters. One of our major reasons was our eldest daughter was having some health issues and so we decided to bring her home at least for a year so she could get better. At the same time we decided we just couldn’t run so many different directions…and so we brought all four daughters home.
There was a day and time we didn’t always have that ability, so I am thankful that the season of life was such that we could do that.
But even in bringing them home I just had a real sense in my heart that we needed to be able to capture our daughters hearts at this vital age….especially for the ones headed into middle school. I could see all the things that were trying to pull and tug at their hearts…I was starting to see it in their actions and attitudes, and not all of it was pretty.
It had nothing to do with the school, the teachers or their friends…we had been in public school education for the past eight years and had a wonderful experience. But We just knew for our family it was time to make a switch.
The age of middle school especially is a changing landscape of hormones, figuring out who you are, what you think and what you believe…and yet there are so many competing messages in our girls lives, and from having been through it with our oldest, I knew how tough it could be on a young girl’s heart and mind.
The decision was hard but we could not escape this sense deep in our spirit that we needed to capture our girls hearts at this early age...that it was vital to pour into their lives in a deeper way at this critical stage.
So we embarked on an adventure the last year, and while it had it’s ups and downs, I can say that it was one our best years. It was awesome to watch them grow and excel in their studies…but it was also wonderful to have the time to invest the things of God’s Word into their life on a daily basis, to work on character qualities and our relationship as a family.
That doesn’t mean they don’t have struggles, or issues that normally come with being a tween or teen…it doesn’t mean they don’t have questions and frustrations. But what it does mean is that in capturing their hearts we can point them to the one who does have answers for all their today’s and tomorrows.
And I see the fruit of that investment…I see them wanting to spend time reading their bible and praying on their own…I see my oldest daughters heart for missions growing and growing…..I see my other girls have a deeper sensitivity to those who are in need or struggling.
I’m not saying that these things wouldn’t happen if our children were in public or private school…..I most certainly think it can.
But what I am saying is that no matter how we school our children, what activities we are involved in…there will always be something that will try and steal their attention away…and before we know it we can stand there and wonder what happened. How did we get so busy in the day to day that we missed pointing our hearts back to Him? To pointing our children back to Him?
I believe that a part of capturing our daughters heart is the ability to point our daughters right back to their creator. To their Heavenly Father…because ultimately it is He who wants to capture her heart.
And the way we point her to Him is by modeling what it means to have a relationship with Christ. To take time to meet with God each day, taking time to read in His Word, to pray and seek Him for our day to day needs.
Sometimes I have to remind my girls to get their quiet time in. I’ll ask them in the morning “Did you take some quiet time, some time to pray and read in your Bible?” And it’s not being legalistic about it, but it is gently pointing them back….helping them refocus from a distraction, whether it be good or bad.
To refocus her heart…to refocus her life. And as they do they began to notice what a difference it makes…when they spend time with God refocusing their mind and heart, then the day just goes better. They find it’s not filled with so much frustration and bumps in the road.
So today I challenge you to take some time for yourself….alone with God….getting your heart re-focused first. Then take some time to ask God how to help point your daughters heart to Him. Pray for insight into what is going on in her life, and an opportunity to encourage her so that you might be able to encourage her back to Him.
~Victoria
Deuteronomy 6:5-8: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.”
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