Free to Follow

  This post will be shorter, but I wanted to speak on something that really disturbed me this morning. I lead a Sunday school class every week where we have different volunteers come in. We always exchange background information, such as where we are from and what we do. I shared with this woman today that I graduated with a Marketing degree. She asked if it was hard for me to find a job, and I told her I was pursuing music so the degree was just to educate me on how business is run. As I began to ask questions about her, she mentioned how her daughter was actually currently studying marketing. I expressed an "Oh that's wonderful" kind of comment, but could instantly see a frown in her face. She went on to say how she tried to convince her daughter to go into the medical field, but her daughter was against the idea, knowing it wasn't for her. She talked about the significant pay cut that her daughter would face and how she didn't know if she would be able to downgrade from her "True Religion" buying habits. She asked her daughter why she would go from one level of a lifestyle to a much lower one. It kept breaking my heart for her daughter the more this woman spoke. I felt the disappointment in every word. I sensed the loss of security she felt in her daughter's decision. Before she left, she wished me luck in my endeavors and I expressed the same wishes for her daughter. She said something like "Yeah, well she will probably need it" as she walked away. Now, I'm sure she has done her absolute best at parenting. I'm not a parent myself, and I know I'll make plenty of my own mistakes if God allows me to become one. I don't want to talk down about her, but I want to bring to light what some parents aren't seeing. 
  I praise my Father for giving me parents who supported anything I ever wanted to do with my life and didn't try to influence me in a specific direction. They truly let God be the one to direct my steps, versus the pursuit of money. My, how my heart is heavy for anyone who did not have parents who did this though. It aches for anyone who was more afraid of disappointing their parents, rather than being determined to not miss God's true call for their lives.  In one moment with that woman, I could feel a sample of the weight of what you've carried. I urge you, give that burden to God. If this sounds familiar to your life at all, let God's voice speak louder than your parents. As great as they may be, your heavenly Father will always be greater and His ways will always be higher. I believe the heart behind what stirred me is found in:


^{Deuteronomy 6: 4} Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you

  My first desire as a (hopeful) parent is to teach my children how to love the Lord with everything in them. Everything else overflows out of that love. What I love about this passage is that Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord our Provider) promised a land where He literally took care of everything. There was nothing left to want. This isn't giving us a right to say, "Ok, I'll just sit back and let God take care of it all." Part of loving God with everything is obeying His commands. Laziness ain't a fruit of the Spirit folks! This just shows us that He will take care of us as we go. It's promised. It's done. No questions. We are free to follow Him! Hallelujah! But hey, while we are being provided for, we can't allow society to influence who we serve. We can't serve the "god" of money, security, fame, etc. We must acknowledge Him in everything because He gave everything, and He's too good not to be willing to give it all back for. Thank you to all the parents who have taught this principle to their children. We need your world changers! 

And I only thought this was going to be a short post... ;)