Arrows in My Hand by Judi Jo Adams

Arrows in My Hand

Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of thy youth.

Psalms 127:3 & 4

I’ve cried out to God, in the quietness of my own prayer chamber, to give me His passion of motherhood.  That I would fully grasp what it means to be entrusted with these precious little lives, these eternal spirits that are in my care to shape for His glory!  In my heart He has birthed the realization that they are my greatest accomplishment in the earth, they are my righteous seed that shall continue forth bearing fruit for His name.  If He chooses to tarry, long after I am gone, they will be the ones that remain to bring glory to His cause.

Now, to be very honest, those of you who know me understand that this had to be worked into my heart.  For the first 10 years of our marriage, my husband & I traveled hand in hand to the nations of the world.  It was my greatest passion! Then, after that season wound down for me, our two beautiful sons came forth & a new season came upon me.  As a mother of young ones, it’s easy to become wrapped up in their care & not fully realize the power of this new time that had come to me.  Only holding onto little hands, one fails to realize that hand will one day reach out to the world. 

Slowly, I began to see that although making disciple in the nations had been as gold to me, these two little disciples in my home would truly be my greatest accomplishment.  They will be the ones to whom I can fully impart all of my heart & watch go forth to carry out the Father’s plan for their lives, however He writes that for them.  What started out as a restless time for me, became a season that I cherish & hold dear.  I know that these years are greater than any other years I have yet to live, though their fruit will not fully be seen until long after I am gone.

After this understanding came to my heart, I realized the awesomeness of their gift to me & the responsibility of allowing them to become all He created them to be.  Having traveled the world & studying the lives of families in the Word, it was never my desire to simply turn them into the American status quo.  Though soccer teams have their purpose & school events teach beautiful lessons, I knew there was still more that God desired for all our children to learn as they grow.  He wanted me to live my passion for Him out before them & allow it be their teacher.  This became my endeavor & still is now to this day.

I didn’t want to hide my love for the King in my own prayer closet; I wanted them to hear it lived out loud before them.  So, I began this quest.  Not to push my Lord upon them, but to allow my passion for Him to become their desire as well.  Both my husband & I have our devotional time with the Lord right in our living room.  Our children have learned to respect that.  They play in their playroom or run around our feet, but they hear us pray & worship right before them.  It has become natural to them.  One day Wesley came to me in the morning, on a day that I had gotten up early to pray, he looked at me and said “Mama, shouldn’t you be praying?”  My heart was full of joy in that moment, knowing that He realized that prayer was an integral part of my day & ultimately his day as well. 

Then, I can remember when they were very small, just 2 & 4 years old, sharing a room together.  I would read story books to them every night.  One evening the light dawned in my heart; I’m not sure why it took so long!  I am already setting apart this special time with them & we all know how precious time is in our busy lives.  Why don’t I turn this into my devotional time with them?  And so, I did just that.  From that day until now we have never missed an evening of worshipping Him together.  Over this period of 5 ½ years I have watched them grow into boys who love Jesus, can pray at a moment’s notice & truly know Him.  It has been my greatest investment of time.

The Lord urged me not to push Him on them, but let them simply watch me & join in at their own time.  For Wesley, this came so early & so naturally.  Every evening we pray, read, worship & quote scriptures.  I’ve tried to endeavor to do this in no certain order, so they can just learn to flow with the Spirit in prayer as they grow as well.  Right off the bat, Wesley would dive in singing with me & even sing his own songs to God, written from His heart.

Evan took a little longer, however all the while the Lord encouraged me not to push.   So, hard as it was, I did not push.  If he wanted not to sing & just fall asleep, that’s was fine with me.  Then, something beautiful took place!  After years of not pushing, something clicked in his little spirit & he began to sing… with all his might, he sang!  He has remained that way until this day.  I often think, what would have happened if I would have pushed?  I’m so thankful that the Lord gently led me to allow him to just watch.  Now I know he was listening, learning & taking it all in; he blossomed in his own time.

I still have much to learn & even today, on Mother’s Day, I cried out again for God to help me be the best mother I can be. What I share with you today is my greatest treasure of motherhood & a glimpse into how the Lord gently led me to put a desire for Him into their hearts.  Now, I can see how Psalms 127 is true & how these two little boys are like arrows in the hand of a mighty man.  I believe they will hit their mark, whatever destiny it is that the Lord has chosen for them to walk!