Stepping into my prayer closet, I started pouring my heart out to God as the shower water poured over me. Our son, Jeremy, had made wrong choices again and I was feeling disappointed and depressed. As I communicated my hurt and feelings of failure to God, I was brought up short by the Spirit’s command, “Praise Me in this”.
Incredulously I asked, “Lord, how can I praise You in this situation? How can I praise You for my son’s disobedience?”
At that moment in time, the Potter let me remember my own experience with clay. When I took pottery classes, one of the very first things we had to do was to bang our clay against the table. Before the clay could be molded and shaped into any object, all the air bubbles had to be removed. Any air bubbles that were left and trapped in a molded object would cause the object to crack when fired in the kiln. It was therefore essential that these air bubbles be brought to the surface and removed.
Understanding dawned, as I realized God was showing me that there were things in Jeremy’s heart that needed to surface so He could deal with them. Each time one of Jeremy’s sinful heart attitudes was exposed, I could rejoice that God would allow us to partner with Him in correcting and guiding our son. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and depressed each time sinful behavior was exposed, I could rejoice, knowing God is faithful and that in His grace He was allowing these things to surface.
I left my prayer closet that morning refreshed inside and out. Acting on this new revelation, I began to thank God and praise Him when my children’s sins were exposed. This attitude of praise strengthened me and enabled me to not grow weary in well doing!
This article was written by the author during her son’s teen years and published in Proverbs 31 Ministries International magazine. The author hopes it will encourage other mom’s to not grow weary in doing good and to continue to pray for their children and grandchildren…for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up!
