He Comes to…Kill
November 3
The thief comes only to…kill.
John 10:10
Noella cringed as if doing so would soften the cutting blow. “You’re so stupid! I wish I’d had an abortion!” her mother screamed. But no matter how hard she tried, Noella couldn’t stop the words from penetrating her heart. But her mother wasn’t finished, “Your father was just like you…worthless!”
All the way to school her mother’s words echoed in her mind.
Born with fetal alcohol syndrome, Noella’s first twelve years of life had been anything but pleasant. With multiple learning disabilities, and underdeveloped for her age, she found herself at a disadvantage. Her classmates shunned her. And her teachers seemed not to care that she was failing in every class. Their conditioned response each time she requested additional assistance was, “There’s just not enough time to help every individual student, Noella. Ask your mother for help.” It seemed there was no one she could turn to.
And then, the school hired Mrs. Shoemaker as the Administrator for Student Assistance. She conducted assessments of each student that fell under her authority. When she met Noella something drew her to the small sixth grader. “How would you like it if you and I became friends?” she asked.
“Ohhh!” the joy poured from Noella’s heart. “That would be wonderful!”
†
The enemy will stop at nothing to kill our spirit, and to that end, He uses discouragement, depression, slander and every other weapon in his arsenal in order to commit emotional and spiritual assassination, things such as circumstances and events, family and friends.
Sadly, many parents fall into his trap. Regardless of what we think, there is no valid excuse. Saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that…” may be the right thing to do afterwords, but the results are still the same…we have wounded our child’s spirit. We must refrain from saying hurtful things.
If we are to be successful in raising emotionally healthy children we must be diligent in policing our words and actions. We should pattern our parenting skills after Mrs. Shoemaker instead of Noella’s mother. Investing wisely in our children requires conscious effort. When the enemy tries to enlist your assistance, refuse to participate.
Prayer
“Father, may I always speak words of encouragement and edification to those I have influence over. Help me guard my words. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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