Finding Time For Your Child When You Have No Time

This statement 'Finding Time For Your Child When You Have No Time “ just can not be true. We all have 24 hours in a day. It's our choice what we do with our time, and who among us, does not make time for what is important to us!

Before I really get into this, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm a mother of two children and a wife of a wonderful man. God blessed us with a girl and a boy. Both are grown and have families of their own. I am a veteran of the U. S. Air Force where I spent over 18 years for my country. I have worked over 23 years in Christian Education. I am now considered as a senior citizen. Presently, I work with preschoolers full time. 

If you have children, you must make time for those children. Children are a gift from God. In Psalms 127:3 we read, “Lo, children (are) an heritage of the Lord: (and) the fruit of the womb (is his) reward.” We have a great responsibility to raise our children, and we will be held accountable one day for the way that we meet that responsibility. How can a child be what they should be if we give them no time or have no time for them. In 3 John 1:4 the Bible reads “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” How can our children learn to walk in truth if we do not invest our time in them. Most important is for them to learn truth and love from a Christian home.

As I stated before, I was in the military and during that time God gave me the gift to become a mother. Being in the military and moving around, you find out that you do not have a lot of choices for child care. That was the hardest for me. Whoever you choose is spending time with your child and helping to raise your child. Wow – what a responsibility!! God gave the gift of a child and now a decision must be made as to who will spend time with that child while you spend your time else where – yes, that is very hard. My children were four and seven when God opened the doors for me to step out of the military and to begin working at our Church/Christian School part time. I did not begin working full time until my son went to K5 a year later at that same school.

Now, why did I tell you all of this about my working and continuing to work while my children were growing? I want you to know that there is time available for you to spend with your child. I also believe that the best way to raise your child is to do it personally and for God. Consider this from James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” My children many times have told me that even though I worked, they were grateful that I had always been there for them. They were thankful that I never missed anything that was happening in their lives. How did I do this? I made sure no matter what was going on in my life there was always time for them! God says, in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” My children are ages 26 and 30 now, and I am over joyed to know that they have not departed from the truth of the Word of God. You do have time– even if you do not see it right away. If business and social schedules can be changed, then so can the family schedule. Never think or say you have no time for your family or children. My husband and I would not be blessed in the way that we are today except for the power of God on their lives and ours!

You may be a stay at home parent or a working parent, either way, it is the quality of time with your child that counts not the quantity of time. What is important is making memories that will not be forgotten. Your child or children need to spend meaningful time with you. They need to see who we are as parents and how we live our lives. By doing this they in turn help us to become a better person. Spend meaningful time with your child.

As a preschool teacher, I've seen parents rush in or rush out when dropping off or picking up their child. Running late for work or trying to get their child to some type of activity. I've seen parents “over book” their child's calendar – loaded with seemingly important and yet family disruptive activities that won't mean a thing in just a few short years. Claiming that, “I'm doing it for them!” What does that say? We need to remember Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Let's make meaningful family time memories!! God gave us a great gift; He gave us the responsibility of parenting.