Miles of Courage

I am not a theologian. I am a desperate parent who loves Jesus and wants her children to know the freedom that is knowing and following Him.

One of the most intimidating aspects of motherhood for me has been sharing my love for God and my honest walk of faith with my children… the good, but also the bad and the ugly. To be completely transparent, we have a newly minted one-year old and an almost-3 year old, so attention is minimal to even say the least haha. But still! I often wonder, how do I explain to them how I know that God is actually real? When is it appropriate to tell them my personal coming of faith story… complete with my wandering for years in early adulthood, looking for approval, acceptance, and even love in insufficient places? And what about the babies we lost before our oldest living child was born and the wounds we still carry in our hearts from the grief? When and how do we share all of that with them?

And yet here I am; 3-ish years into mothering living children, and I have to tell you that I actually feel deeply excited and empowered about this aspect of motherhood. That in and of itself is nothing short of a miracle of God; a discussion for another day. This shift showed up because I have seen God show up in my humanity in mothering day after day time after time without fail. I have seen God take my impatience at the end of a workday to generate a meaningful discussion with my toddler about repentance as I ask her for forgiveness. When I am telling the story of David and Goliath, I am asking my own self what courage looks like regarding that difficult patient case still on my desk at work. I have witnessed my frustration in traffic turn our emotionally loaded morning commute into an exercise in counting and naming our blessings (thankfulness), a time of singing off key (worship), and tandem group prayer. There are too many instances to count.

He is parenting me, as I parent them. And He is also discipling me, as I disciple them.

It’s become my rhythm to pray over my efforts towards discipleship for my kids, because I need all the help I can get from God to fulfill such an important task. Over the past few weeks, I have been reflecting about concepts that may be helpful to teach through during the 40 days of Lent. As I read and prayed over the story of Lent in Matthew 4, several themes stood out to me that seemed foundational for me as a follower of Christ. So much so, that I committed myself to also sharing these 7 themes with my own family (including our Littles) this year during Lent. I started jotting down notes while sick in bed one Monday, and those notes have since snowballed into a simple Christ-centered devotional for both individuals and families with a special emphasis on young children.

I am not a theologian. I am a desperate parent who loves Jesus and wants her children to know the freedom that is knowing and following Him.

“Lent is for Everyone (even Littles)” is a 7-week discussion-based devotional for Christian families to guide prayer and Bible-reading during Lent. Reflections are based on the story of Lent, our Lord Jesus Christ’s experience in the wilderness taken from Matthew 4: 1-11. The devotional is intended to begin on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and end the week of Easter. Each week focuses on a different important attribute of God that is revealed through the Holy Spirit and Jesus’s triumph over the devil during his time in the wilderness. It is adaptable for both adults and children of all ages and filled with tips for leading young learners.

It is available to download for FREE here on Miles of Courage: in the “TOOLS” section of the site menu. I hope it blesses your time with the Lord this Lent and continues to encourage you towards personal and family discipleship.

With love,

Ifeoma