by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

1 Peter 1:6,7
In this you greatly rejoice,...that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold,...even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Do you want to know what the chief of all emotions for mothers is today? It's not anger, worry, fear, loneliness, lack of confidence or feelings of failure. It's discouragement. It begins as exasperation and can become feelings of being out of control.

At times raising six kids has a way of getting you discouraged. I remember going to a pancake house and the kids were really at each other's throats. Dennis and I were thinking, We're failures. We're raising juvenile delinquents. Here we are speaking at conferences and on the radio every day, and we're failures!

But that is just part of raising kids. If there is anyone who is doing it perfectly, then he or she better peel back the cover on the kid and find out if he or she is a robot. We don't raise robots, we raise kids with wills of their own. They are going to disappoint us and we will be discouraged.

I think Christians are more susceptible to discouragement because our standard is holiness. Nothing less than 100 percent perfection. Somehow we start believing that our faith will eliminate failure. In reality, our faith will help us battle the discouragement that comes after failure.

We need to hold on to our faith. "Being more precious than gold," our faith combined with a lot of perseverance will result in an imperishable reward-and a generation of children who are raised up in Him.

Prayer:

Ask the Lord to help you and your mate to allow yourselves the freedom to fail as parents, and to teach you how to handle those times when you feel like failures.

Discuss: Discouragement and raising a family. How does it impact you? How can you come alongside your spouse?

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