My friend Whitney posted this on her blog and I love it. David and I pray that we are a living examples of "leaving the green house" for our children. We desire that our family honor the Lord in all that we do even if it seems a bit "radical" or out of the ordinary to those around us. Audience of ONE! Our family desires to be His hands and feet, ready for battle and I pray daily that we would be challenged to do still more.
It's nurtured under the right temperature.
It's given the correct amount of light.
Until the seed cover pops off and
out burst a tiny plant.
Healthy, strong, and growing
under the direct influence of the house it's in.
The only problem is the greenhouse
has not prepared the tiny plant for
adversity.
In our community I see so many
kids, my own included, that are raised
in green house conditions.
Perfect amount of schooling,
Perfect amount of socializing,
Perfect amount of church,
perfect amount of friends and only
"like minded" friends.
We pay for our kids to go to the best
violin teachers, piano teachers, voice teachers...
Then they will, Lord willing, get
married to someone who has been raised in
the green house down the road under the same
perfect conditions.
They start their own green house and are happy.
Of course they're happy.
Their whole life has been about them being
comfortable in their green house.
My heart breaks when I think about
all the trouble we go through raising our kids in the
right conditions, teaching them bible verses,
making sure they learn all the right truths,
but..
They never feel inclined to make a difference in
the world.
Sometimes it's a lack of passion,
Sometimes it's a lack of knowledge that
there is a lost and dying world right outside
their safe green house.
But more often
it's our fault as parents.
We are passing down our laziness.
(The sins of the father)
We struggle to live out our faith and so
our kids will struggle.
Yes, they will thrive
in our greenhouse and most of them will pass down a
great greenhouse life to their children but
we have to pass down a love for all of God's people.
We have to be willing to stand with our children and help
a lost world.
We have to pass down a passion for the orphans of this world,
the homeless, the widows. Yes, we have
to grow strong plants for the next generation but we cannot
forget the passion of Christ. Teaching our children
to love children and to love being keepers at home
is what I'm about but I also want them to be about
the orphans and the needy
that are not growing in a green house.
I can only teach that
when I come out of the greenhouse and go with my
children to the battle field.
It's all in vain if we raise up an army and our
army is never sent to the battlefield only to the
green house next door.
2 comments:
Wow Erica! That is too good not to repost. Thanks for sharing.
love it. LOVE IT.
happy easter, friend :).
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