When my youngest came into my room in the morning hours earlier this week, I thought I heard her ask, “Mom, will you read me the Bible?” I mean, we do read the Bible together on a regular basis but it still seemed a strange question to me first thing in the morning from her so I wiped the sleep from my eyes and asked her again what she said. She then asked, “Mom, can you read your Bible now?”. Not being able to go to sleep until about 2am the night before caused me to need a few extra brain cells to comprehend what was happening here. My daughter knows that when I get up in the morning I read my Bible. She knows it is one of the first things I do shortly after getting out of bed. She also knew that none of her 4 siblings were awake yet which meant if she wanted to play downstairs, she would be alone. Hence, she asked if mom would get up and read her Bible. She simply wanted me to be with her and knew I could be with her if I was up reading my Bible.
After stumbling out of bed and into the bathroom to brush my teeth, I grabbed my devo bag and headed downstairs with her. I read my Bible, worked on my study and read from a book for a little while. All the while in the back of my mind, I was feeling grateful. I was so grateful that my young daughter was aware that her mama read her Bible first thing in the morning. Grateful that she saw the importance of having my face in God’s Word before facing the day ahead of me. I was happy that she didn’t ask me to get up and check Instagram or noodle on the internet or check my e-mail. She asked me to get up and read my Bible. She knew it was a priority in her mom’s life and heart.
As I went about my morning, I just kept thinking that this was the best alarm clock I had in quite awhile. To have your four year old daughter make you see that you are making good and wise choices. It would make one hold their head a little higher, wouldn’t it? Sure…until the Lord pricks your heart a little more. A few hours later, as clear as day, I heard the Lord say to me, “Yes, she sees you reading your Bible each morning. That’s good. But does she see you living it out each day?”. Ouch. It was one of those moments where you knew that voice or thought wasn’t your own. I knew that I knew that the Lord was speaking straight to my heart. Did she see me being patient with her and her siblings? Did she see me serving with the heart of Jesus? Do my kids see me walking in obedience even when it’s hard or do they see me go with the flow because that’s much easier? Do my daughters see me respect my husband? Do my sons see me as a helpmate to my husband as he leads our family? Do those around me see me turning to prayer when times get hard? The million dollar question that day was, “Do I live out each day before my family, friends and neighbors the truths that I read each morning?”
Wow. She didn’t know it but my little girl preached to her mama that day. Throughout the remainder of the day and into the next, I found myself checking my heart. I found myself much more aware of my reactions to my children. I questioned my actions and motives in certain moments. I was more aware of my tone of voice. I checked myself for patience…or lack thereof. It improved the lens of how I looked at my day and completely changed the trajectory of my week. I’ve heard it said before that moments like these are “altar moments”. They alter the way we look at life or drastically change our walk with Christ. I know for me this has truly been an altar moment. I know what happened in this very quick exchange with my daughter will be one that affects my mindset and alters my actions. Again, I come back to gratefulness. But this time, not grateful for my “holy actions” of reading the Bible that my daughter saw. I am grateful that the Lord loves us enough to prick our hearts when needed even though it hurts. I am grateful that I have little eyes watching to remind me to keep my heart in check. I am grateful that the truths of His Word are what I have to guide me each day as I walk out this journey of motherhood. I am ever thankful for this lesson taught to me by the smallest of the small.
Have you ever had your child teach you a lesson that you didn’t know you needed? Have you held onto that lesson? Has the Lord pricked your heart in unconventional ways through your children?