Instructions on the Way You Should Go

There are so many beautiful verses in the Bible that speak about the instructions and guidance we have from God.

“The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you’ (Psalm 32:8 NLT).

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8 NIV).

How many times have I asked myself, “What should I do now?! How am I going to raise these boys?” 
8 AM rolls around and I have already made breakfast, packed lunches, separated two squabbling brothers, and sent them on their way to school. The morning chores pale in comparison to the emotions that spew out of the small bodies in my charge.  

Does God feel this way as he looks down on us with His “loving eye”? 

I genuinely appreciate that David wrote these words in the same psalm that speaks of confession.  
If we can confess our sins, then we can also gratefully accept guidance from God’s Word.  
If we can acknowledge our own vices, then dealing with our children becomes a much less haughty moment. 

Anger, for example. 
How many mothers have wanted to pull their hair out after dealing with the bedtime arguments that seem to pop up out of nowhere. Yet, it is in the quiet moments of night time snuggles that God uses my son to instruct me.  

Conversations often go like this:

“Jesse, I really want you to work on your anger. Sam just wanted to see your Lincoln Log house.” 
“Mom, I am only six. I should have it under control by the time I am ten.” 
“Oh Jesse, lots of adults don’t even have their anger under control.” 

God’s Word never ceases to cause me to pause; seeking His face reminds me that while I am made in His image, I am also a woman who sins every day. How many times have I yelled at the boys unnecessarily? How many times have I uttered a silent, but equally dark, retort to my husband? 
But God…. 
We can let the psalms pour over us – they are reassuring and calming. If I can turn to His Word, then I can allow myself to be instructed and led in the way I should go by one much higher and wiser than any here on Earth.  

Raising children is a life-long endeavor. It is something that pulls on my mind, body, and spirit. How am I to do it with my own intellect and experience? The answer is… I am not.  

I, and you, do not have to do any of it alone.  
Be assured – His “loving eye” is on each of his daughters, and He longs to lead us closer to Himself…through our crazy children.