Your Daughter's Spirituality and Your Control Over It

Dear Moms,

I’m going to be really honest about an area in my mother-daughter relationship that keeps me up at night: my daughter’s spirituality.  Mmm…I grimace.  And I hope I’m not alone in this.

Considering the content of this blog, I hope it’s evident that I know and love our Lord Jesus Christ.  I love Him in a way that makes me want to shout it from the rooftops. I believe in the Lord and I’ve learned that living blindly in faith is a thrilling & meaningful way of life. I want my daughter to have the same love, passion, belief, and conviction in our Christian faith. Oh, how I want that for her!!!

But…I can’t force it. I can’t guarantee her relationship and belief in the Lord [insert look of terror here.]  But! there is still a lot I can do.  I can lead her. I can guide her. I can live a life above reproach that exemplifies Christian character & acknowledges God’s daily grace.  I can teach her what I know to be true. I can pray for her. I can pray for her some more. I can instill values in her. And I can continually plant seeds of faith.

Ultimately, though, her faith is her decision. Her relationship with the Lord will be a personal one. That’s the only way.  But, as a parent (errr, as a mother)  …this freaks me out!!!

Am I doing enough??

Am I doing this right??

Does she get it? Does she care?

Am I cramming this down her throat??

How do I make faith real to her??

There is not a one size fits all answer here.

So, how do we – as mothers – help our girls make a decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? How do we get them to live a life that demonstrates that they want to love & serve Him with their whole lives, too?

It simply starts with us (moms) & our demonstration of what that looks like.  AND, it takes prayer - Specific prayers over our daughters.  Yes! I mean, we, as mom’s need to spend some serious time on our knees before the Lord. We need to commit our daughter’s to the Lord in prayer. We need to intercede on their behalf.

And my final thought on this, is this:  think back to when your relationship with God became what it is.  For me – there were definite “good seasons” of my walk, and “not so good seasons” but I know when God became real to me.  What prompted my faith in God is totally different than my daughter’s. I grew up in tumultuous circumstances and I found faith because God became my only lifeline. Through desperation, I found hope and faith in Jesus.  But, my daughter, on the other hand doesn’t know what that feels like.  Her spiritual awakening is going to be prompted by something totally different.  All I can do, in the meantime is share my experience, my faith, and my journey with her.  I can make a relationship and love for the Lord real to her through my story.  …And, I’m still watching as she writes her own.

I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this topic.  
What do you think? Any questions? Any stories to share?  Write me!


-Emily

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