I know this is going to age me, but do any of you remember the little jingle that went by the name of the “hokey-pokey”?   We use to go to the roller skating rink and that was one of the traditional songs they played every time.  It was the most popular song of the entire evening; even more popular than the couples skate.  Everyone would gather in the middle of the floor in a big circle and the song would begin.  “You put your right arm in, you take your right arm out, you put your right arm in and you shake it all about.  You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about”.  

For some reason that song came to mind the other day and then, like any number of those crazy songs, I couldn’t get it out of my mind.  God does work in mysterious ways because I began thinking how our children’s lives are like that crazy song.  They can be in flow with Christ during their lifetime, they can be out of the flow, and they can be in flow, but be shaken by all the challenges that life brings.  

Unless you are one of the few parents that have the privilege of living with a perfect angel, you will know what I mean when it comes to the shaking process.  There are stages where self centeredness, lying, drinking, sex, and disregard for authority can raise its ugly head in any family.  Yet there are times when prayer, helping others in need and loving the unlovable manifests itself in our child’s life.  But oftentimes, there is that fine line between being in or out in your walk with Christ where the real shaking comes in.  We all desire to be totally in tune with Christ, but reality suggests we are not.  We are not perfect and neither are our children.  

So what do we do?  We pray like our children’s lives depend on it and we love them unconditionally while trying our best to point them in the right direction.  Then when the shaking from this world comes about, we will be able to hang on for dear life knowing that God will help us in our time of need.  Until next week … Walk in Love.

Lord, I see all of the challenges and difficulties my child / children has on a daily basis.  The enemy of this world would have (him, her) think that the pleasures of sin are greater than anything You can offer.   But there is no greater pleasure than feeling Your presence in our lives.   Help (him, her) to understand this and help me to guide (him, her) in that direction.  So when the storms of life gather at (his, her) doorstep, You can come in and calm the waters.  In Jesus name.  

Eph 6:11-13   Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Difficulties are God's errands; and when we are sent upon them we should esteem it a proof of God's confidence- as a compliment from God.   Henry Ward Beecher