If I Feel It, It Must Be True!

Support
Coming alongside others and providing gentle, appropriate assistance with a problem or struggle. (Galatians 6:2)

Support for your Child or Child of Focus….

Are you a parent of a middle-schooler or do you know a middle-school-aged child?  I know when I was a middle-schooler, back in the day, support is what I looked for most. Something about this age leaves you feeling so insecure about everything around you. What you look like, act li ke, – truly, e verything about you seems to be judged by your peers.

Parents, your middle-school child needs your support more than ever, DAILY. They need to be told BY YOU, that their world is OK and if it isn’t really OK, they need to know you are there with them and that you love them. You r children need y ou to encourage them and to tell them all the wonderful characteristics that you love about them, and that those characteristics make them who they are . They need to be told what God thinks of them, even if they don’t feel it. (I remember living by whatever my feelings dictated. Often I believed lies about myself because I “felt” a certain way.)

YOU, as their parent, can be the biggest game-changer in a time when they are most vulnerable. Your support can lead them down a very good path for a chance at emotional well-being. Don’t allow your child’s peers to be the ones speaking most powerfully or attempting to assert the most influence into your child, let that voice be yours.

Let’s Walk in the Light of Jesus – He is the Light of the World (John 9:5)

Have you ever read the I Am verses? There are different versions of them around but would you read the one I am posting here today?  If you have time, read enough of these verses to feel and know more deeply that the object of God’s supportive love is YOU.

Aren’t these amazing truths about how God loves us and who we are IN Christ? I know the first time I read these I was pretty amazed. Do you think your middle- schooler would love to be amazed as well? They need to hear the “how” and “why” Jesus is “so crazy about them”.   He loves us with a “crazy love” that defies our logic.

By speaking God’s Truth into their heart and sharing God’s and your love with them, you build up their soul. By sharing that God and you are FOR them will speak support and value into their heart.  Remember they don’t have to understand it to make it worthwhile for you to say it, read it, put a card on their mirror with it.  No child understands all the words he/she hears at first, but over time even complex concepts and difficult words can be both understood and embraced.

Let’s Walk in the Light of God’s Word – It is a Source of Light for Us (Psalm 119:105)

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness   for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,   I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,   they comfort me.

Are you a “shepherd” for your child? Do you shepherd their heart?  Do you walk through difficult, stressful times with them? Do you reassure them often that you will always be there for them? Do you tell them they have a wonderful Savior that is with them at all times?

We have a wonderful Shepherd, our Lord Jesus, that  exemplifies  to us how a good shepherd takes care of his flock. In a similar way we can be supportive to our children. They need you Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent, friend!

Let’s Walk in the Light of Real Fellowship with Our Spouse – We are the Light of the World, Too.  (Matthew 5: 14)

One way that I like to show my older kids support is by texting them. I will just ask them how their day went or is going so far. If I know they are facing a rough day ahead, I try to text them in the morning as a reminder that I will be praying for them. Technology can be used for the good!

For younger children, support could look like helping (not doing it for them) a project from school, a task on their “To Do” list, or a job they want to do.  Team effort and cooperation, we call Joint Accomplishment can be taught by example and you support them in their efforts when time is running out or the job is a bit too much for them to do alone.  Make sense?

We can support our kids at any age. I need support too, don’t you!? We just need to be creative in how we show it. Each child will be different. Maybe by putting a note in their lunch box or sending them a message on Facebook. It is the little ways you reach out that will touch their heart and show you are there for them.

Will you accept a challenge this week? Will you reach out to your child/child of focus and show him/her support, one new way, everyday for a week? Some examples may be:

1. Bake some cookies or their favorite treat and have it ready for when they come home. Then sit with them and ask them h ow their d ay was while you both enjoy the treat you made.
2. Take them out for a one-on-one date and talk to them about their friends. What do they like or not like about their friends ?
3. If it is close to final exam time at school, anxieties might be high. Take a minute to pray with them before they rush out the door in the morning.
4. Put a note under their pillows telling them what a great kids they are . (Not because of anything they do but just because who they are)
5. Text them, Facebook them, write a note on their bathroom mirror, any words of support or special verses  you can give to match what they need at the time.

You can show support in simple, age appropriate ways. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You just might see that middle-schooler (or younger or older child) smiling a lot more!