One of the best parenting decisions I ever made was to wait.
That’s right. Wait.
Wait to send that email. Wait to open my mouth. Wait to reply to that text. Wait to decide a consequence. Wait to form an opinion. Wait to make that call. Just wait.
I, by nature, am a laid-back personality. I’m easy, breezy and go with the flow. But when I became a parent, all of the sudden I became impatient and overly concerned about things I could and count not possibly control. I became a quick-fix artist, spinning in and out of problems and issues to make sure that my child didn’t suffer, hurt, struggle or quite possibly ever know she actually had a problem. Now that’s good parenting.
Nope. I was just making everything about me and not God’s best for my child.
But as I matured in my spiritual walk and parenting journey, I realized that God was with me and He had a plan. My job was to wait on Him for help.
{“Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14.}
David cries out to the Lord in the Psalms for help. He waits for God to help him over and over again and God is faithful.
As parents we need God, so we need to wait on God.
{my inner dialogue…} But I know so much and am so capable, God! I got this. I mean what’s google for if it’s not to solve all my kid’s problems?
But here’s the truth, I never, ever, once regretted waiting on the Lord. Not once. When I took a step back from the situation, and sought the Lord, He gave me peace, understanding and even sometimes made the entire situation a mute issue. Poof. Gone.
Here’s what happens when we wait:
· We have time to pray and seek wisdom in the scripture
· We gain a proper perspective
· We get our facts straight
· We cool down
· We give God time and space to help us in our time of need
· We have time to seek godly counsel
There are situations where we cannot afford to wait. Life threatening, life altering situations demand our immediate attention. But there are many day-to-day situations that, instead of controlling their outcome immediately, we can wait on the Lord for His help and guidance.