Things I never got to teach my children

We were separated when they were teens and younger and here are some things i never got to teach them but wish i had. That there may be a day coming when they face famine, or the inability to purchase food, and that they need to know that the Lord will feed them, the same as He fed Elijah and Elisha, both in famine and in hiding. 

Elijah by miracles- 

And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 1 Kings 19:5-6

And that sometimes our sustenance will be whatever the poor widow  is cooking- The Lord said to Elijah-

  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 1 Kings 17:9

 and one of my favorites: Elisha-

And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.    1 Kings 17:4-6

 and sometimes like how He fed me:

   i planned a weekend vacation in a summer house on an island in the San Juan Islands and when we got there I paid the bill and then realized i had forgotten to add in tax to the price. It took all the money we had to pay for the rental. We were 120 miles from home with no money and all we had were some crackers. The rest of my family wasn’t expected to arrive until the next day and so we settled in for a beautiful view with empty stomachs. While we sat in the lovely living room looking out at the beach we noticed the seagulls dropping something on the rocks in front of the house.  My husband ran outside quickly and snatched a dungeness crab up before the bird could swoop back down to eat the now cracked crab. Soon another gull did the same thing, and my ex got a couple more! We ate better that night than we would have if i had budgeted right.

 Instead of teaching my children so much about calling the things that be not (like little red sports cars) as though they were, i should have liked to have the opportunity to explain that sometimes you will go without and thats ok, because the Lord will get you through it all.  I would tell them the story of my walking down the side of the road one day when a ford bronco with the logo on the back drove by and i wanted a car so bad i began to pray for one. The Holy Spirit said in my heart… Jesus had to borrow a donkey…

Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. Matt 21:2-3

The apostle paul said:

  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phil 4:11-13

I wish i had been able to teach my kids that if they are being attacked by people that want to hurt them, they should scream alright, they should scream Jesus.-

One time i was driving in a city that had installed a new traffic light- in the past when we had a green light it meant i could freely turn because the opposite traffic was stopped. The new light let all the traffic go but i didnt know that and turned anyway…right in front of a semi going 50+mph. My friend in the car screamed oh @%$@ but for some reason i screamed “Jesus” and we turned just fine and didnt get hit. We should have died that day and she would have been killed first. I wasnt more righteous but I’m pretty sure the Holy Spirit took over my mouth right when i needed it most!

 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21

I wish i could have sent my kids to some kind of legit spiritual warfare camp when they were younger and not been wanting so much to send them to karate camp. I wish my kids knew that Jesus can still defend them even if they are pacifists and that He still does miraculous things today like blinding people who are trying to harm them- 

But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.  Gen 19:10-11

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.  2 Kings 6:18

and in the new testament:

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.  Acts 13:8-12

that the Lord can slay their enemies, or utterly slay their enemies-  

As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. John 18:6

 the angel of the Lord smote king Herod shortly after herod killed the disciple james- 

And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Acts 12:21-23

i would teach my children to pray for their enemies because God does see what goes on down here and-

For  we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord… Heb 10:30

 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 2 Thess 1:6

And when they are trying hard to be rough and tough to fit in with this world, I wish I had been there to explain some things about that.  I wish i could have been with my kids when they hit  adolescence and explained to them that the feeling of being different, being odd and not like all the other kids is a normal thing and that no matter how they try to fit in they never will totally, for they are from a heavenly kingdom, not this earthly one –

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye  should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9

I would tell them that a Labrador can spend his entire life pretending he is a pit bull but he will always be a Labrador and it will show whenever a tennis ball pops up and he can’t stop his tail from wagging.

Mostly though, i would tell them that i love them with a greater love than i could ever express, just like they are, and that i only pray for the best for them.