The other day, I was thinking about what my parents are doing. At their age, most people are close to realizing their dream of retirement. But my parents are basically giving up their retirement in order to raise these kids. I thought of Paul’s words “being poured out like a drink offering” (see Philippians 2:17 & 2 Timothy 4:6). There are many times, I am sure, that my mother would rather be free to sit and read in a quiet house, or go have coffee with a friend anytime without having to find a sitter, or be free to just pick up and travel to see her grandkids. But my parents’ conviction of what God has called them to do is driving them to do the difficult, to fulfill a higher dream. It is going to take all of their strength and energy. It is going to be harder on their health. It is going to take reliance on God, but it will be worth it.
I realized that my parents are now demonstrating in a most real and tangible way, what they have always taught us to do. Follow God’s commands, and if He gave you dreams that fall into line with that, then follow them.
So I started thinking, what are God’s commands? Jesus’ last command before leaving earth was to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, making disciples (Mark 16:15 & Matthew 28:19). Then the definition given in James for pure and undefiled religion before God is “to care for orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted from the world” (James 1:27). Lastly, the command that fulfills the whole law is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14).
The older I get, the more my parents are an inspiration to me. My parents were never officially in a ministry, such as pastoring a church. But now, looking back, I see that they had a ministry, a very important one. Their ministry was raising children for the glory of God. It hasn’t been without their own battles or without our family’s battles. But standing with each other by God’s grace, as well as standing on the promises and wisdom of God’s Word, they have done well in raising their own eight children to know God’s Truth, to be good citizens, and to know they care about them and want the best for them. The time, energy, training, guidance and care they put into raising us is not something that every child has.
On this day, I say, “You go, Dad and Mom!” Thank you for being the inspiration to us kids and so many other people to serve the Lord no matter what. I also say to my two new siblings, “I am very happy to have you join our family. I celebrate with you this opportunity to be a part of our family that God has made and is continuing to make. I hope that someday you will see what a blessing it is.”