Parenting vs. Ministering

The Ladies Bible study started at our church yesterday!  I didn’t sleep well the night before because I was excited to see what God was going to do.  Our pastor’s wife delivered the introduction to our new topic.  The room was filled with ladies three different times. With so many ladies you can be sure childcare was also filled. 

 image found here: google search

Our youngest, Hope (she is our seventh grader) came in to Bible study as school finished.  She was quick to ask the director of the study how childcare went.  She told Hope that there was a high amount of children and a low amount of volunteers.  Hope, without hesitation considered how she could get out of her classes the following week to help the need in childcare.

Her desire to leave school is not because she dislikes school, its because she loves the children and sees her help as valuable.

I love Hope’s perspective and am embarrassed and humbled by my own. She saw a need and offered to minister, to be a servant. She simply tried to find a way to help.

Occasionally, I slow down long enough to hear God’s still voice.  It comes in the form of hearing the same scripture, the same prompt of the Spirit, the same burden over and over throughout a small span of time.  This week I have recognized the repetitive term, “minister.”

I have specifically considered that term as it pertains to my family. It has been easy for me with some sort of “spiritualese” to say, “My family is my ministry.”  However, to look at my husband and think, “how can I minister to him?” or to talk to our children and consider “how can I minister to our children?” revolutionizes my responses to them.

Here is an example of the change of thought.  My oldest daughter called last night to chat about her anxieties over a new job and their only car that can’t seem to get out of the mechanic shop.  There was a shift from, “I need to parent her” to “how can I minister to her.”

Drew (our son in college three states away) later called to “check in.”  Again, the conversation changed when I altered my mind from mentally parenting him to considering how I could minister to him.

Surely, it must be semantics. In the literal picture of Jesus walking through the unpaved, stone scattered paths of Israel.   I see the God-man, look down at His disciples feet.  Maybe He thought as a parent, “boy those are some stinkin’ feet they better get down to the Sea for a scrub.”  I love the picture that Jesus, filled to compassion, grabbed a towel and dropped to His knees to minister to His disciples.

Why did He do it? Although only a guess, but surely He practically saw they needed their feet cleansed.  But He also washed their feet as an example for us, for me.  He lovingly ministered to those He was closest to.

I am realizing I am so close to my family we just “do life to life together.”  You know, the practical everyday household chores.  When in fact, I need to consider how I can minister to each of them.

Will you join me in an all out day of ministry?  A day where we consider looking at our husbands and children through Christ’s eyes and consider how we can minister to each?

John 13: 4 & 5

4So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.