A Lesson in Obedience and Disobedience

My boys are far from perfect. But as they grow, I see Christ moving in their lives in ways they don’t even realize. It gives me such encouragement as a mom. I can’t make all their decisions or keep them out of all trouble…I don’t even want to. But I do want to give them the right foundation from which to build their life. As God guides me as a mother, I am convinced the best thing I can do for them is live it out in front of them.

I felt called to read the entire Bible in the month of May. I was excited about the prospect of committing over 3 hours a day for 31 days to Jesus. There were days when I could hardly put His Word down and others where I struggled to finish my 40 chapters. Sometimes the day would just get away from me. But I did it and the journey was phenomenal.

My greatest encourager was Derek. Every couple of days he would ask how it was going. He was so impressed. He would say things like, “Mom, I don’t even think most preachers have done this.” Or “So you haven’t missed a day yet?” A few days ago, we were discussing my time in God’s Word and I told him there’s really no place I’d rather be. He said, “Really, I would never know that…your Bible is covered in dust…no actually there’s skin oil all over your Bible ‘cause your face is always buried in it.”

I smiled at the fact that he has that indelible image. Last night as I was sitting in the room with Derek, I started reading the last few verses in Revelation out loud to him. He looked up and I said, “I just finished.” He smiled and gave me props. In time, I hope some of the stupid things I’ve done or said will fade away and he’ll remember most of all that his mama loved Jesus and spent a lot of time with Him.

God blesses obedience in ways I almost always see immediately and then it ripples throughout my family. I’m thankful for God’s wisdom as He shows me what He wants from me and ways to move my boys in the right direction.

Over a year ago, Derek and I were struggling with an issue and truly butted heads. I put my foot down and demanded that he do things my way. He just got angrier. Finally, God spoke to me about the concept of disobedience and asked that I teach Derek that lesson. So I told Derek he could proceed down the path he was going. I would not stop him. But I wanted him to know that it was in total disobedience to me. He was happy for a moment and then confused.

“So I can do it?” He asked

“Yes, but remember it’s in complete disobedience.”

“What does that mean?”

“You do it and find out.”

“Well what are you going to do to me?”

“I’m not going to do anything.”

He was perplexed, but went ahead with his plan thinking he'd won. He found out he was miserable. Knowing there was a chasm between us and that he didn’t have my blessing was too much for him to bear. He did a u-turn and headed in the right direction. He often talks about that time as a significant moment. I remind him that’s a small taste of disobedience to his Father.

It so good to have my Jesus!