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10 Minutes Peace

    by Susan McGrath

PUSH
Date Posted: June 16, 2007

Those of us who have gone through the labor and delivery of a child remember this term. For me it stirs feelings of dread and relief. With my first child the term "push" echoed around the delivery room for over three hours. With the second, just three times. Little did I realize that was just the beginning of my relationship with the word.

Ahead of me were hours of pushing - a stroller, a swing, a bicycle as my children learned to ride. As inconvenient and repetitive as those pushes could sometimes be, they resulted in a sleeping infant, a smile, or a squeal of delight and a shout of "Look, Mom"! I'm riding by myself!

Now I'm heading into another phase of pushing - pushing my kids to do homework, take out the trash, even make the right decisions when they seem inclined to be contrary. I'm afraid I may be weary of pushing by the time we get through the tween and teen years!

Blessedly, a classmate shared a new "pushing philosophy" with me recently. (Well, not new, but often ignored.) It helped me remember that no matter how hard I push my kids, they do have a mind and heart of their own and I should look to God to push them in the right direction when my energy flags.

P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens! Sounds like wise advice not just for raising kids, but for living life in general. That "something that happens" might be God speaking softly to my heart or it might be a huge, obvious event that reveals an answer to prayer. The point is, I should give it over to God and not give in to the temptation to stop praying. God answers prayers in His own time. I can't push Him to work faster. He knows the precise moment when to shift, add or take away something in my life.

Next time I get pushy with my kids, or with God, I need to stop and pray and remember who is in charge.

"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17.

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Biography Information:
Susan McGrath is:

a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;

living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;

completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.