If you have children, you’ve likely learned more from them than they have from you. Children have a way of keeping you humble without even trying. Sometimes they are a reflection of you, which can be downright frightening. They are the ultimate accountability partners because they don’t miss a beat.

I believe God gives every family at least one strong-willed child. This is one way He humbles us. After all, weren’t we all perfect parents before we had children? Surely we can admit to the secret counsel we gave to “clueless” parents who struggled with their offspring. Now, through our own parenting struggles, we’ve learned mercy. God does have a sense of humor.

I believe one of the most pivotal moments in my Christian walk came from our precious God-given instrument of humility. Five-year-old Alison was eager to learn to ride her two-wheel bike without the training wheels. Normally this teaching opportunity would fall to my husband, but he was preparing a marketing presentation due the next day.

As was typical for our strong-willed child, Alison was resisting my instruction. No matter what I asked her to do, she had a better way to approach the challenge. My frustration mounted. I decided to take the only mature, wise-parent option I could muster – I tried to shift the responsibility to her father!

“You know what, Alison?  I’m going to go get Dad. I just don’t have the patience to work with you today.” 

As I walked toward the house, a small voice called to me.

“Mom?”

I turned.

“You know the patience is in there. You’re just choosing not to use it.” 

There it was. Truth. This was not said in a disrespectful way, not at all. No disciplinary action was required of me. Her words reflected the sweet and sincere faith of a child, the purest form of faith. And they resonated in my soul.

Alison had been the beneficiary of excellent Sunday school programs and children’s Bible studies. She had recently learned about the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). She had been listening! And she was right. As a child of God, having been born of the Spirit, the fruit (the necessary patience, joy, etc.) had been given to me. It was already there, ready to be used for His glory.

I was reminded of the passage in Matthew 18 in which believers are exhorted to “become like little children” in their faith. To Alison, this was a simple matter of recognizing the truth. I was the one making it difficult.

The passage in Galatians goes on to say, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (vs. 25)  In other words, as Spirit-filled believers, we need to live accordingly. We have been given every tool necessary for victorious living. We can choose joy in the midst of trial, patience in the midst of frustration, self-control over all temptation, and so on. Grace is also a gifting that we can choose to use. As I’ve stated before, we often prefer a change in circumstance to what God is offering; sometimes His Plan A is grace. 

Will we walk in the flesh (focused on self) or walk victoriously in the Spirit (focused on Jesus)?

 We just need to choose to use what’s “in there.”

Joy in Jesus,

Jacquee