“He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs in his arms;

He will carry them in his bosom,

And gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:11

 

Gently lead me.

I am with young. I need Your tender, gracious touch. Everyday. After the quiet of the morning is forgotten; drowned out by the noise of needs and discipline to be taught. The Scriptures I held to at daybreak now slowly escaping my grasp. I need Your tender, gracious touch.

Lead me gently.

I am with young and I strive to capture every moment but some of those moments threaten any resolve I have left for patience. With camera, with pen, in the deep vaults of my heart I grasp to retain every detail of these moments. The way his hair lies on his head today, tossed to and fro from busy play. The details transforming before my eyes even as I watch. I am helpless to slow them down. Time has its own agenda, and it is not gracious. And so I need Your gracious touch to lead me gently in pursuit as I capture these moments.

 

 

Gently lead me today.

Each moment morphs into the next, and this collection of moments begins to form who they will be. Even that which they are too young to remember will form their understanding of this world they find themselves in. Although I doubt that they will remember today, how I speak to them today will begin to shape their view of God. I need Your tender, gracious touch so that they can see You clearly; unclouded by my own humanity and selfish agenda. Lead me gently today in speaking gracious words to them.

I am with young and there is a constant yearning in my heart for balance; for homeostasis. Internal stability. A complete aligning of soul, body, and spirit as I lead these young. But my body grows weary and it weighs on the spirit. The chord of patience wears down and threads begin to snap; my soul turning more ugly as each thread gives way, and again balance retreats. I need Your gracious, tender touch to weave back together this chord, this time with the threads of Your own patience, unbreakable.

 

 

This view of stay-at-home-mom-hood, the simple one of simple hours strung together by wiping mouths, smearing jelly on bread, and picking up legos. This view of woman tending to young all the while waiting for the hours to pass and man to return home. This simple view must be exposed as false; as incomplete. This job is anything but simple. Anything but boring. Anything but hours passing. Towering piles of laundry and the remains of arts and crafts projects scattered about, feeding hungry bellies and wiping tiny finger smudges from glass; these are the easy things to balance.

Yes, I need Your tender, gracious touch in these moments, but mostly for grace to see them as gifts, and to remember them; to hide them in my heart for when these young are grown.

 

 

But the difficult balance, the one I cannot seem to find, yet resolve each and every morning to try; it is the balance of a heart and mind. Mine own as well as theirs. The emotions to be tamed, taught, directed with each passing moment. The constant tension these emotions create, and the fight to respond instead of react to them. To address the condition of hearts; not only my heart but also the hearts of these young. I am responsible for more than just me, I have them also to direct, to teach, to guide, to grow. To shape. This is a tricky balance. To teach them who Jesus is even—especially– in those moments where my selfish tendencies have made Him harder to see. They need to learn how to see Him from one moment to the next.

 

Gently lead me as I gently lead them.

 

And this is Your promise to me. To all of us with young. You gently lead us so that we can gently lead them. We are helpless, hopeless, lost in our humanity and so desperately lacking in what it takes to raise these children well. You make us able. Through Your perfect patience, Your loving kindness, Your complete wisdom, and Your faithful promises, You gently lead us; and this is our sure hope of gently leading them.

 

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs in his arms;

He will carry them in his bosom,

And gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:11