Train up a Child

Growing up as a child in a single-parent home, my mum had to put in a lot of effort to ensure I grew up the right way. During the long-term holidays, she would take leave to spend time giving me lessons at night. I can’t forget her telling me on numerous occasions: “If I could open your head and put the book inside, I would”. Unfortunately, she couldn’t so she had to spend the time teaching me. This effort wasn’t just in the academic space but also in my spiritual life. 

She would take me to Sunday school, ensure I went to church- of course, as I got into my later teen years, that became harder. But she would make sure to ask me what I learnt in church, so even if I didn’t want to go, I went just so I could answer the question when it inevitably came. One of my fondest memories was attending Vacation Bible School (VBS), in one of those, I learnt about faith and all through that holiday I couldn’t stop telling my mum “have faith” lol. Looking back, I now understand why I write so much about faith and it has also helped me.

In Prov. 22:6 (NKJV), the Bible says: “Train up a child in the way he should go, [a]And when he is old he will not depart from it”. Joel Osteen, when talking about this verse said something that stuck with me- training them doesn’t mean they won’t deviate from the path, but eventually, they will find their way back to God; so don’t get discouraged when they do, keep praying and trusting God. As I got older and I got more independent, I certainly deviated from the path, but somehow the things my mum taught me stuck. Two of those things that have stuck with me from her training:

1.      Stay close to God and trust in Him (James 4:8, Jer. 29:12-14, Heb. 11:6)

2.      Be diligent in all you do (Prov. 22:29, Col. 3:23-24).

Glory to God, I found my way back to Him and these lessons helped me, even when I wasn’t the best of children to my mum. In typical motherly fashion, she kept praying for me, loving me, and training me (even when I wasn’t interested). If you are a parent or you have children that look up to you, train them. Don’t leave them to their ways like the world would have you do. When they are old, you will be glad you did. As for me, my mum is still training me, and in turn, I am also training my child. If you have a child that has missed their way, keep praying for them, and don’t give up (I Thess. 5:16-18)!

Photo cred: heartlight