Open Hands

This morning I was reading the "word for the day" on http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=67 and it coincided with what has being mulling over in my mind lately....

".............In the same way, anyone who holds on to life

just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love,

you'll have it forever, real and eternal" '

(John 12:24-25 TM).

Paul knew that 'death to the flesh'

was so crucial to a victorious Christian life that it became

the cry of his heart: Listen, 'I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience His resurrection power, be a partner in His suffering, and go all the way with Him...' (Philippians 3:10 TM) Want to be in dwelt and energised by the force of the resurrection?

Be willing to lay down:

1) your will

2) your desires

3) your pride

4) your independence.

We are talking here about reaching the place where the only thing that matters is what God wants! It's the exact opposite of all your natural instincts. 'How will I know when I have died to self?' you ask. Because you can criticise a dead man, walk on him and he is not affected by it. That's because he has moved to a higher dimension."

Letting go?

Don´t we all just love to do that?? We would all WANT to be able to do it better than we do, but often (in my case at least!!!) with great intent we leave our struggles, pain, etc... at the cross and when know one´s looking we sneak it back!!!!

When I was falling in love with my now husband of 20 years (we celebrate the 20 years on Sept 19th!!) I was seeking the Lord as to if he was the right one for me, God challenged me to live with open hands.... To entrust this question into God´s hands and leave mine open to let Him do whatever he wanted in my life. This prayer developed into a song and here are the lyrics:

OPEN HANDS

Lord help me live with open hands

never making my demands

higher than they ought to be

In front of your plan for me

Help me have that willing heart

Eager to make a start

Of giving you my deepest desire

Knowing your ways our higher

Chorus:

Lord I want open Hands

Willing to give what you demand

Open hands that say

Have your own way

Have your own way

And with my hands outstretched to you

I know that you'll be true

To your precious word

I accept you as my Lord

Copyright words

AjB

Now, 20 years down the road, I find myself once again challenged by God to have open hands. This time, it is with regards to my children. Just the other day as we were driving to church, this song just popped back into my head out of the blue. I haven't thought about it for about 20 years..... but God hadn't lost sight of it and here He was reminding me of it!!!

I, unlike most of my blog friends, am entering a new level of motherhood, as many have done before me, the level of letting go.

Having younger kids often proves to be very physically taxing, and yes they are hard work, but you have the upper hand on "controlling" their environment and the results of their misconduct do not seem to have such serious ramifications outside of a "time out" or asking forgiveness for snatching the other siblings/friends toy.

But as the teenage years are reached, one begins to deal with issues such as flunking in school, (which inevitably messes up in the work scene later on), or temptation with drugs ..the list is endless...

The seriousness of the domino effect of their mistakes at this stage is much weightier and the borders or your worrying extend as far as the eye can see. The challenge of "letting go" or living with "open hands" takes on a whole new perspective and challenge for me right now.

It seems that long gone are those days where you would enjoy Postman Pat and Legos, and the tremendous satisfaction of being able to solve their problems easily. When only Mum could make things better with a plaster on their "booboos" and untangle the knots in their running shoes.

It isn´t so easy now to fix their broken hearts from the rejection of their first love, being deceived by their best friend or their struggles with self esteem. No it´s a whole new ball game, when you just thought you had this parent thing down!!!! The rules have changed and so has the strategy.....


But you know what???? The only thing that hasn´t changed in this ratio is that God is sill the same and His love for my kids/ our kids is greater than ours!!!

Yes believe it or not, and for any mother this is very hard to conceive, God does love your kids more than you and He is ultimately concerned for their welfare and future.

This summer has just been a reminder to me that God is on my side.....I don´t have to be like Sarah and find a Hagar to solve my problems... God is there. His timing and plan might differ from mine, but He is at work.... and I can rest with my children in open hands.