Treasuring Our Children

​“but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” 
Luke 2:19 (NLT)
 
“and his mother kept and closely and persistently guarded all these things in her heart.” 
Luke 2:51 (AMP)
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I recently began a journey through the book of Luke, studying the life and ministry of Jesus.

Since we “steer where we stare” (Lysa Terkeurst, The Best Yes), I must look upon the life of Christ if I want my life to look more like His.
 
And I do. I really do.
 
Today, the verses above stuck out to me, and I began to meditate on them. Why would Luke add twice that Mary “kept”, “guarded”, and “treasured” things in her heart?
 
The events at the stable. 
The words of the righteous man (Simeon). 
The praises of the prophet (Anna). 
And the characteristics of her son.
 
Mary treasured the prophetic words. She noted his obedience, his passions, his strengths and what God had to say about him.
 
As parents, it’s easy to become desensitized to the potential in our children.
 
It’s easy to allow the labels others place on them, their disobedient actions, their bad reports and weaknesses to steal our faith that God has an incredible plan for their life... a plan that is “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
 
We must become like Mary. We must learn to treasure.
 
We must spend time asking God, “What do You say about my child?” then listen, and write down the vision (Habakkuk 2:2).
 
We must note their strengths. Their passions. Their personality.
 
We must get in His Word, and meditate on His promises about them. Then, we must speak those promises in whispered prayers in the moments where we’re tempted to believe otherwise.
 
We must speak life. “The tongue has the power of life and death”…when the world speaks what it sees, we must speak what God says.
 
All these things.
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We must keep and closely and persistently guard all these things in our heart.
Our children need us to be for them, not against them…
After all, isn’t that was Christ does for us? ​