Tough Love
In
this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say
nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for
yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God
regards you as his children?
My dear child,
don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out.
He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment;
it’s training, the normal
experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for
themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents
for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can
truly live? While we were
children, our parents did what seemed best
to them. But God is doing what is best
for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much
fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it
pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in
their relationship with God. Hebrews 12:4-11 MSG
I
was always good with children, so I thought parenting would be a piece of cake
when we adopted our oldest. I also believed nurture was more powerful over
genetics.
From
the beginning our daughter cried every night for an hour before she went to sleep.
It didn’t matter what we did. We tried everything from rocking her to leaving
her alone, she still cried for an hour.
Later
during her childhood, she pushed the family rules. The rules consisted of: the
first time bad behavior occurred the child received a warning. The second time
the same behavior occurred an age appropriate privilege was taken away. The
third time it happened a swat on the bottom with the dreaded wooden spoon was
administered. The other children were seldom spanked. But not our oldest, she
was spanked often.
Our
oldest became more rebellious during her teen years. And I wasn’t sure either
of us would survive. Today she is in her fifties and a wonderful, loving
daughter.
Parenting
can be wonderful. It can also be horrendous. Some situations call for tough
love.There are times in our lives when God has had to use tough love with us, to
build our character.
Father,
You are the only perfect parent. I desire to be Your obedient daughter. Help me
during times of Yourtough love when You are building my character, I pray.
Amen.
Sweet Charity
Dr. Nancy St. John has a well-kept,
twenty-year-old secret.
When Nancy was a high school senior,
her socialite mother and henpecked father banished her from her home in Santa
Monica, California, because of her pregnancy. Nancy left her friends, her
school, and her boyfriend, Skip, to live with her spinster aunt in Chicago
until she gave birth to a girl. Angry and hurt, Nancy broke all ties with her
past.
Heartbroken,
Nancy concentrates on her work and avoids intimate relationships. She hides
her feelings. Hope, the daughter Nancy gave up for adoption twenty years
earlier, finds her. A bond blossoms between them but is challenged by Hope’s
leukemia. Hope needs a bone marrow transplant, but she has a rare blood type.
Nancy is not a match. She is determined to find Skip, Hope’s biological father,
who never knew about Nancy’s pregnancy or why she disappeared so mysteriously.
Author B. J. Bassett encourages
others as an author, teacher and speaker.Her books include Lily, Gillian’s Heart, and
coauthor of My Time with God(a
children’s devotional) which sold 55,000 copies while in print.
She teaches writing workshops at
Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. As a speaker for Stonecroft
Ministries, she tells her story of rejection and acceptance, not only in life,
but as a writer as well. She also offers book talks.
B J Bassett
Twitter: B J Bassett@bassett106
5 comments:
Great devotional, Bunny. Our oldest was adopted, too, and we shared some of the same issues with stubbornness and rebellion. Thanks for the reminder of how God uses tough love to train us! Well done.
Thanks, Laura, for hosting Bunny today.
Hi Bunny. I like when you said tough love builds character, it sure does. You are an awesome writer and the story is a terrific read. Wishing you all the best.
Laura, you are such a blessing. Thank you for sharing my writing with others and for announcing the republication of Sweet Charity. With appreciation, BJ.
Thank you for sharing your heart, B.J. Bassett. Tough Love does build character and God correcting us as His children. Sweet Charity sounds like a great read.
Bunny writes the best devotionals. I really enjoyed this!
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