Five Suggestions for Surviving Parenthood (pt 2)

Passage

"So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents."
Genesis 25:27 (NKJV)

Pondering

So far we have seen three things we can learn from Isaac and Rebekah's mistakes concerning their failure in bringing up Esau and Jacob....

Firstly, deal with the negatives of the past.
Secondly, develop communication.
Thirdly, destroy favoritism.

Now let's look at a final two pieces of advice...

Fourthly, draw out their dreams.
Instead of enabling their sons to go the way they were made by God to go, Isaac and Rebekah were living THEIR dreams through their kids. Isaac had lived in a sheltered, low risk-taking relationship with his father and got excited hearing Esau's risky adventures. Rebekah had yearned for someone to communicate emotionally with and Isaac had not satisfied her in this area, so she turned to her home loving son, Jacob. They both despised their other sons as they did not fit into what they were looking for.

As parents the Bible says we must train up our kids "in the way he should go", (Proverbs 22:6) not in the way we want them to go.

Fifthly, display a loving example.
Esau and Jacob were raised with the negative examples of lack of trust and deceit. We see Rebekah listening in on Isaac's conversation with Esau, probably full of bitterness that Isaac does not speak to her in the same manner. She then hears that Isaac plans to bless Esau so she quickly conspires with Jacob to "steal" the blessing through deception (Read Genesis 27:5-8). This environment of lack of trust and deceit is played out in Esau and Jacob's lives as they go into adulthood and only remedied by the grace of God.

But that's another story for another time.

Poem

I want my kid to be a doctor as I failed in that pursuit,
So they can drive to work in my smart pin-stripe suit..
Maybe then they will be like I am. The same as me right now :
Unhappy, unfulfilled and as bored as a munching cow!

Prayer

"Father, help me to be the best parent I can be. If I have kids now help me to release them into your dreams for them, not my dreams. Help me and my spouse display a loving , trusting example to them. If I have no kids now then prepare me to be a good parent in the future, whether to my physical or spiritual offspring. Amen."