In the sideblog yesterday, I mentioned that I sometimes feel like a failure for all that I’ve left undone. So much to do, so little time. This is why as mothers we have to choose well. So many details vie for our attention, and we have to constantly choose between A and B. If you’re a mom of many, I should say that sometimes you have to do A and B at the same time while letting go of C, but you know what I mean. God is our Shepherd, and He will help us to choose well if we are listening to His voice. That’s what I learned today.

Elisabeth Elliot discusses the question often asked of young children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” in Keep A Quiet Heart:

“… it implies that the choice is theirs. This can lead to great confusion later on. The child will grow up physically, but spiritually he will not have begun until he learns that Jesus died not only to save him from sin but in order that he should live not for himself but for Him who died (see 2 Corinthians 5:15 and l John 3:16). If a young person has been taught from childhood that he ought to ‘be something’ without at the same time being shown that nothing is better than being God’s servant, he may be preoccupied with ambitions and ideals he has gotten solely from the world. If his conception of ‘where it’s at’ has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God, he is in for trouble when it comes time to discern the Will of God. He will be setting limits to his obedience, defining the terms of his service. ‘For My sake’ is a concept children can grasp much earlier than we generally suppose. A little boy wrote to me that he was learning to lay down his life for others. To him this meant that sometimes when he would rather play he lay down beside his little sister to help her go to sleep.

“Pray that God will show you how to teach your children that life is meant to be lived for God. ‘You are not the owner of your own body. You have been bought, and at what a price! Therefore bring glory to God in your body’ (1 Corinthians 6:20, PHILLIPS). Help your child to understand that the Lord is his Shepherd, and he is a little lamb. The Shepherd will gladly show him the right pathway if he is willing to follow.”

Teaching little ones to be sensitive to God’s leading is done well by example. We want our children to grow in relationship with their Shepherd. We have been bought–that is the key.