LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. – Psalms 16:5-6 (NIV)

If there is one thing that I hope to instill in my girls while they are young, it is the discipline of being content.  More than that, I want them to seal in their hearts a satisfaction with who God made them to be and to pursue it with vigor.  God has assigned each of us our portion and we need to live with wholehearted intent to explore all that entails. This is not a task for the lighthearted.

First, we must be pursuing that same thing ourselves with wholehearted intent.  We must lead for them to follow.  Every day presents its challenges to this leadership – self-interest, temptations and the devil himself – that will not let up just because we would like it to be so.  We lead because what we are leading our children to is far more important than any challenge we face on the way.

Second, as much as we try to protect our children from the world, someday they will need to live in it, but not of it.  Our culture has become too influenced by manufactured discontent. We are told we need the newest, brightest, fastest car or computer or phone so we can be relevant.  Our children are right in the midst of this and we will need to reinforce that their worth comes from who they belong to and not what belongs to them.

God has made each one of us to fill a space and time a certain way.  He has assigned us our portions.  We will never be happier anywhere else.   Helping our children walk into the time and space that God has designed them for is a privilege and a challenge.  Developing the character in them to occupy that time and space with all their mind, soul, strength and heart is demanding but rewarding.  We have to go first.  We have to occupy our space and time with everything we are for them to model.

Lord, help me be occupied with Your will and design for my life.  Give me encouragement through Your Holy Spirit to live a life fully vested in being what You want me to be, where You want me to be, how You want me to be.  Let me lead my children in that same way with gentleness and grace. Amen.