Every single night when I put my kids to bed I read to them the same five Psalms: 23, 27, 91, 121 and 133. I have been doing this for the last six or seven years; it started as reading just Psalm 91 and bedtime prayers when our oldest son was a toddler and over time our nighttime routine has grown to include two more sons as well as other passages that are important to our family. This has become a beautiful and non-negotiable tradition that my kids and I both love.
C.A. and I want to build a strong foundation for our children that teaches them to rely on God and to look to Him in times of fear or difficulty. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” This has rung true for me in my own life. My parents raised me to have strong faith and to turn to God first in times of uncertainty or struggle. This doesn’t mean that my faith is unshakeable or that I have never questioned God, but it does mean that no matter how hard things have gotten or how far away it seems that I am from God, I have a deep well of scripture to look to as examples of God’s unwavering protection and love.
Recently, I have been struggling with waiting on God’s timing and it has been incredibly trying. We are preparing for a major move and things haven’t been going as smoothly as I would have liked. There are days that I wonder if we are doing the right thing and I wonder why God is not allowing this to be an easier process. And to be honest with you, I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I know that God has told me to be still and to wait on Him (Psalm 37:7). And I also know that if I acknowledge Him and lean not on my own understanding, He will direct my paths (Proverbs 3: 5-6). Because I am looking to Him first and because I have the foundation of scripture that I do, “I am confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”! (Psalm 27:13)