Daily Devotional

There are some images that will stick in my mind forever.  One of those images is my dear husband lying on his back next to our foster daughter under the coffee table.  He was talking softly to her as she clutched the leg of the coffee table—refusing to budge.  How did she get there?

It was all about a request I gave her to pick up a wad of Kleenex she had thrown on the floor.  She stomped off and positioned herself under the coffee table, refusing to move.  Was it really about the simple request I gave her?  No, of course not!  She had a lot of anger in her heart built up and she needed to explode it all out.  The Kleenex was just an opportunity. There are no words to adequately express how horrible it is for kids to be taken away from their family and forced to live in a foster family.  They are scared, angry, and hurt.  

What was my husband saying to our foster daughter under the coffee table?  He told her we loved her and care about her. “You can’t make me not love you.” We knew she was angry and hurting. My husband knew that getting down on our foster daughter’s level, under the coffee table, was the best way to communicate with her.

Isn’t that what Jesus did for us?  He got down on our level to communicate with us.

John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

PARENTS:

1. Talk to your kids about the verses. Express the love that Jesus has for them. That’s why Jesus chose to come to us as a baby born in a manger to grow up and die for us.  
   
   
2. When your kids are angry…remember there may be other reasons your kids are angry.  Be patient and let them express their anger to you.  Help them process their anger with you so they won’t be as apt to express it in the wrong way.  You may discover the real reason they are angry.
   
   
3. Sometimes kids misbehave because there is a need they have that is not being met.  Are they hungry? Hurt? Need a hug? Afraid?
   
   
4. Get down on their level to speak to them, even if you have to lie down under a coffee table.

New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.