“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” -Proverbs 22:6

“Parents, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” -Ephesians 6:4

School starts today! (…or tomorrow for some of us… or whenever the contract agreement comes in Kennewick School District.) At any rate, it’s back to school time! We have our backpacks filled with the necessary supplies. We met our new teachers and found our classrooms. We have an outfit picked out for the first day of school and hopefully will get to bed early tonight. It’s exciting and a little scary to start something new. I remember being happy to see my friends again, and eager to learn new things. But I also remember wishing the relaxed attitude of summer could stay with us all year long.

How we train our children stays with them throughout their whole lives. I can’t tell you how many times I hear the words of my mother and grandmother coming out of my mouth! These can be in fun, playful moments, as well as situations for correction. Every situation can be an opportunity for training in a positive or negative way, but parents get tired. A study from 2017 states that the average mom with young children spends 98 hours a week working in child-related jobs. For us career moms, it means we get to do all those chores and tasks in a tighter time-frame even with the help of childcare providers, school, and grandparents.

I love my children, and I prayed and waited a very long time to embrace them into my life and our home, but I get tired. When I am tired, I get impatient, and don’t train my children in the way they should go very well. And I’m pretty sure that some of the time, I exasperate my children. But when I’m focused, even if tired, I can shift my attitude, my behavior, and my words. This takes a gentle and forgiving spirit. It also takes asking for help. We are truly blessed to live in a community with close friends and nearby family. Many people in our community are new and don’t have close friends or nearby family. How might God be calling you to share in the load and burden of training up a child?

One of the most important lessons I believe we can train our children is humility and encouragement. Having a teachable spirit, being quick to ask for and extend forgiveness is crucial to a healthy spiritual life. Helping someone else to celebrate successes without jealousy or feeling slighted is crucial to a healthy family life. Using our words to build up and not tear down, speaking the truth in love is crucial to mental and emotional health. Let’s train our children in these ways and they will never depart from them.

Please take some time this week to join me in praying for our schools.

Holy and loving God, thank you for the children in our lives and in our community. We pray today for our teachers and administrators. We pray for staff and employees of our schools. We pray for bus drivers and custodians, lunch workers and librarians. May you use them daily to encourage our children and train them in your ways. We pray that our schools would be safe from violence or harm. Protect our children’s minds and bodies as they return to school. Give speedy resolution to labor disputes in the schools and encourage our teachers that they know how appreciated and essential they are to our community. May you continue to use us to train up children in the way they should go. Give us patience and endurance for the tasks before us. Give parents the ability to example humility, extend grace, and celebrate with joy the accomplishments of our children. Amen.