Lately I have been getting those glimpses of harvest in my own home. Yesterday my 6yr-old knocked his little brother down and immediately helped him up again. He even apologized – on his own! Later I heard two brothers fighting and before I could step in I heard the 7yr-old say, “You boys should make peace with each other. How can you show love to your brother?” I treasured that sweet fruit. But I knew it wasn’t time to sit back and enjoy the harvest. Not yet. I still have much sowing to do.
We get ourselves into trouble with our discipline when we expect to reap during a season of sowing. Discipline catches us by surprise. We think, “Didn’t I already teach you that? Didn’t I JUST discipline you for that?” We’re surprised how hard it is. We’re surprised how sinful our kids are and how much work discipline really takes. We want to reap when it is still time to sow.
We also forget that sowing is a season and every season has an end. If we put off disciplining now, soon it will be too late. Our kids won’t learn to obey on their own. Obedience comes through the seeds of discipline, planted by faithful mamas who tirelessly tend to them. Sowing is slow. It’s repetitive. It takes focus and intentionality. Yes, we will break a sweat. Yes, we will get dirt under our fingernails. But soon the days of planting will be over. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. Discipline might seem endless now, “but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)
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This article originally appeared at The Gospel-Centered Mom.
