Service Starts at Home

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity (Titus 2:7)

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself acting like a complete jerk in front of my children. I lose my patience, get frustrated, or just get stressed out and they are the ones who pay the price. Isn’t it amazing how we can give so much to others, but when we get home we have nothing left to give some days?

The Lord has really been speaking to me in this area. Who is my most important ministry? Who are the special ones He chose specifically for me? Who does He call me to be a mama to? THOSE are the ones who deserve my best. THOSE are the ones who need to see me walking with dignity and integrity, demonstrating the gospel with my words and actions.

Our children need to see us loving Jesus. They need to see us living that out in our homes and in our workplaces, with our friends and families. Our little ones (and even our big ones) need to see us extend a hand to those in need, share a smile and a kind word with someone who needs encouragement, shake a hand or give a hug to someone who needs reassurance. They need to see the love of Jesus flowing from us. That love will radiate from us to our children, covering them with comfort, reassurance, and peace.

They also need to see us doing good works. Do you involve your children in outreach and service? Are you cultivating a servant’s heart within them? With seven kids, I can honestly say that some of them have more of a servant’s heart than others. But they have ALL had service demonstrated in their lives. They have all watched me serve countless times, and I have stressed the importance of being the hands and feet of Jesus to them. My 10- year-old blesses my heart with his huge heart to serve others. He will find the scruffiest homeless person and shake their hand. He will serve in a food assembly line with great joy. He is…to put it simply…a servant of Christ. My heart just can’t wait to see how he uses this in his adult life. I know God has amazing plans for this sweet little boy.

Oh, how thankful I am for my family. How grateful I am to be able to help lead them to Jesus. What a beautiful treasure it is to mold and shape their little hearts to be like Christ.

Thank you Lord for trusting me to do this job. Thank you for guiding me and showing me that my family is my first and most important ministry. Help me, Lord, to make a true and genuine effort to give my best to my most precious. And my Lord, help me to not give in when Satan calls me to act in frustration and impatience, but to seek your calmness and peace when dealing with the ones I love so dearly. Amen.