Many times as our children were growing up, I would throw up my hands in despair, look towards Heaven and tell God that since He made them, He needed to help me raise them correctly. His response was always the same, “I already gave you the instruction manual.” Of course, He did! But when I was frustrated, I would forget to turn to it.

God’s instruction manual for our lives is in His Word. I recall my husband putting together baby cribs, small furniture and toys. So many toys! Bikes, Barbie houses, race car tracks, etc. He would start out okay but soon I would hear Harry call my name and tell me that he was stuck because there seemed to be a part missing or a step he left out. So, I would head to where he was and he would start again. This time, I unfolded the instructions that he had usually left in the box and read them aloud to him, one step at a time, until the work was finished. You see, he always thought he could complete the task without looking at the instructions. After all, it should be easy and it was just “common sense.” I think we do the same with our lives. We are going along happily and come across something unexpected that disrupts our plans and our happiness. Instead of reaching for our instruction manual in God’s Word, we often try all kinds of other solutions first. We call a friend for help, we decide to deal with the problem another day (I call this the “Scarlett solution” from GONE WITH THE WIND. If you have read the book, you know the reference). Or we simply walk away and try to live life without a solution to the problem If only we could all learn to first look in our instructions and follow them step by step. God does not leave us without teaching, correction and rebuking us. He does all of this for our good and expects us to take the instructions out of the box and use them. They are for our good and end up helping us to be more like Jesus.

After a time of fruitless grumbling and whining to God about the children and their actions, I would inevitably turn to my Bible, finding comfort and resources there to continue to parent in spite of my children’s opposition to my parenting skills. I learned by doing things incorrectly and then I learned how to do them the right way. God always has a right way to do things, including putting together the puzzle that is our lives. I also learned that when I disciplined the children, reading Scripture with them and praying with them afterwards soothed them as well as me. We were reconciled to each other and to God, and that is exactly where we needed to be.