A High Treasure

I’d like to write something witty or funny but I have an issue that has been swimming around inside me for over a week now and I cannot get away from it.  I have not been able to blog because it keeps coming to the surface.  I just keep chewing on it.

If I’m chewing on it you know I’ll share it with you.

On March 1-2 I attended a Youth program called “Acquire the Fire”. This is a yearly event in our area with Christian music and message for the youth to empower them to impact their generation with their faith in God.  I was blessed to go. It was fantastic to see about three thousand young people on fire for Christ.

They offered parent sessions for those of us brave enough to go.  We would leave the youth to hear their message and travel far away to an outside building that seated about 150.  That is the first thing I took notice of – 3000 plus kids and not even 10% of parents were expected at this session.

So I settled into my chair all self -righteously satisfied that I was among the remnant of parents desiring to be here and then …….

The first thing he said was, before you can expect to have a place in your child’s life….

“You must first capture your child’s heart.”

He had my attention and I immediately began to fight back tears.   To have someone’s heart is a powerful thing.  I have given my heart to two husbands and then I took it back because I felt that they abused their privilege.

How much have I abused the precious gift of my children’s hearts?

Have I treated it with the respect and protection that it deserves?

In my head I kept hearing “capture the flag”.  On ancient battlefields the quest was to capture the flag of the opposing army and subdue it while taking your flag and holding it high.  This epic moment meant that the battle had ended with you victorious.  This is where we get the The Star Spangled Banner, written by Frances Scott Key.  The entire song (originally a poem) is about our flag and the fight to keep it high during battle.  They were watching all night from the belly of a ship to make sure that our flag was not captured at Fort McHenry.

Then my mind began to spin …..

In this life love is a battlefield and your child’s heart is the victory.

I was deeply convicted during these sessions because of the careless, clumsy way I have handled the hearts of my children.  I have expected them to love and respect me because I am their mother yet I have not proven to them that I am worthy of honor.  How much “Ungodliness” have they seen in me?

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:29-32

The ancient Spartans would not allow a man to go to war unless he had fathered a son, therefore insuring that he would be replaced if he fell in battle.  The son was the assurance that the bloodline would be carried on.  I know the Spartans are a bad example because of how terribly violent they were but a son was a high treasure in their culture.

Is your child a high treasure?

My son no longer lives with me, he sleeps each week night under the roof of my ex-husband and his wife and family.  Though it is a hard reality for me  I appreciate that the same ex-husband had to deal with not having him on school nights for 16 1/2 years.  Such a long time to have a high treasure in my home and what did I do with that time?  Did I spend it wisely? Did I raise a son who knows that he is loved, appreciated, a high treasure far above any diamond I could ever own?

So, as I searched my soul this past week and prayed about treating my son differently when we are together the ONLY tangible thing I came up with to change was to turn off my satellite t.v. subscription.

To most, this is a small and stupid thing to do but for me and God it is a sacrifice on my part to spend my week nights doing more than nothing and to be ready to have FELLOWSHIP with my young man when he does come.

Fellowship, time to listen to his heart.  What is in there that I do not have access to? It is time to declare battle on the cares of this world and to STOP and LISTEN to my son, to HEAR his heart.

Here is a quote you got from me almost a year ago….. it still holds strong today.

“We Need to Raise Our Sons So That They Do Not Become Ex-Husbands.”

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