Mirror, Mirror

I was reading in my Bible and I came across this verse. As I read it the Lord stopped me and brought a thought to my mind. The verse is Proverbs 22:8 "He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail."

My sins will get me nothing. That part is easy to grasp, the concept of sowing and reaping is something we can wrap our brains around. The part that was very big for me was the second half  "and the rod of his anger shall fail."

Have you ever noticed some of your negative traits showing up in your children? I know I have and when I do it gets me so frustrated, because it's like a mirror showing me that I have warts on my face! In my mind I'm a sweetheart, but then that little mirror shows me that I'm slougthful, or argumentative.

My natural reaction is to fight against that. But if that's my approach, scripture tells me that it will fail! Ouch... I'm guilty of reacting and not acting, and in those instances I see the least amount of change in my children. I see that they may seem like they were sincere in the moment, but that they will go back to their sin as soon as my back is turned.

I don't want to raise children who have "a form of godliness" I want to raise children who have a heart for the Lord and a strong desire to please Him. But that means it has to start with me. I have to be everything that I want my girls to be. I have to keep things in my life in order so that I'm not fighting what I see in the mirror. I must renew my mind and be transformed by scripture to be all that Lord has called me to be, so that my children can be all that they are called to be.

I don't want to make it sound over simplified because it's not. But the truth of the matter is the steps to being the best me I can are in fact simple. Pray. Read the Bible. Pray some more. Apply what the Lord has shown me. There is NO cookie cutter "you must look like this" answer. It's a process and it must be done the Lord's way.

I mentioned to a friend the other night that after I got saved I was like "ok Lord now make me like Michelle Duggar." Because to me that's what a godly wife and mother is like. But I expected it over night. I'm saved now I'm holy, boom. Thankfully it doesn't work like that. The Lord takes time and carefully molds us into exactly who He wants us to be. It's about the journey just as much as the end result. 

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. -Isaiah 64:8