The best way to prepare our children to face the world is to remind them of their need for Jesus.   #theloriclineshow   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   This school year, as your kids leave the house in their very thought through outfits, new shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes and way too expensive water bottles, do you find yourself asking this question, ‘have I done enough to get them ready’? If so, you’re not alone. My girls are both in High School this year. One is a freshman and one is a senior. We’re in the final stretch for our twelfth grader. We can see the finish line and even though we have her at home for one more year, I’m wondering even now if we’ve done enough. Have I prepared her? Have we taught her what she needs to know to weather the storms and people of life? Is she ready? I begin feeling a little anxious. Maybe you can relate and your student is headed off to college, officially leaving the nest. I believe as parents we feel this at just about every stage of our children's life. Preschool, first day of elementary, middle, high school, college and maybe even on their wedding day, are they ready? Have I done enough to prepare them for what’s to come? That’s our job as parents! As a follower of Jesus I follow Godly wisdom from Proverbs 22:6 that tells me to ‘train up a child in the way they should go’. So what way should they go? To answer that question I go back to what God commanded first in Deuteronomy and then what Jesus seconded in Matthew. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. That’s pretty clear. Love God with everything you have! Keep His commands in your heart and write them everywhere so you never forget! Follow them because you love Him and His way IS best! If you or someone in your home has a football team or a sports team they LOVE, have your children fallen in love with that team as well? Usually that’s the case. You buy them baby onesies and raise them to LOVE that team! Are we raising our children to LOVE Jesus? From the moment they are born, with the same energy and passion, we should be telling them about God’s AMAZING love for them! A love for sports, fame or money won’t save them from Hell but a love for Jesus WILL! Parents, give them Jesus. My husband and I have tried to do that every single day of our girls' lives. Do we get it right all the time? No. Have I done enough? Here’s an honest and real answer to that, NO, and neither have you. Now before you hang your head in shame, here’s the GOOD NEWS! We weren’t meant to be enough! We love them. We train them. But the BEST thing we can do to prepare them for any season is to GIVE THEM the only one who IS enough. Give them Jesus. He is the only one who can satisfy. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. The BEST way to prepare our little ones and not so little ones for back to school or any stage of life is to continually remind them of their need for a savior. We weren’t meant to meet their every need. Only Jesus can. When we mess up and let them down, give them Jesus. When we can’t rescue them from the pains and heartaches of life, give them Jesus. When they are running on empty, point them to Jesus and He will fill their cup. Are they ready? If my girls walk into this new year loving God with all they are and with a hunger and thirst for more of Jesus, yes they are! That’s the truth. Train them up to love Jesus and when it’s time for them to fly, you’ll have done enough. I’m Lori Cline.