Wounded Spirits

I have spent many hours in study and prayer over this one. Wanting to raise well disciplined and emotionally healthy individuals. How strict is too strict How much spiritedness is too much? What builds them up? What tears them down? What memories and scars will they carry? Will I know about them? Will they be hidden and only erupt in a crisis? What makes some children unreachable? ---Undoubtedly this requires a constant walk and communication with God as we endeavor to keep the hearts of our children. And you can never, never give up no matter what. No matter how hard it is. It would be unwise for any of us (adult or child) to let our guard down for a minute. All of us can be only a decision away from being separated from God and loosing everything. If we allow wounds from the past to influence our judgment we are in danger of making the wrong decision. Yes, this world is cruel. It is washed in Satan's influence. But we, on the other hand, have a different washing and with it comes an overcoming strength. As you teach your children about God's love they will learn the difference and will be able to have a defense against the cruelty of this world. Our confidence in God teaches and builds their confidence in God.
Before Meg's birth I was told by a well meaning older Christian mother that I should be prepared to loose one of my children to the world because the odds were that 1 out of the 3 would be lost. This was unacceptable to my 27 years of wisdom. I would not, could not allow it. The gauntlet, if you will, had been thrown down. And so begin a new fight for the souls of our children. It is amazing how fired up you become when someone presents you with an unacceptable future outcome. I know now that she had lost a child to the world because of a wounded spirit.
I encourage each of us to look first into our own soul. Acknowledge the wounds that are there. (We all have them.) Seek healing in God's merciful grace and forgive the inflicter of the wound. Whether we inflicted it upon ourselves or someone else did. Forgive. By God's grace we become better stronger parents, spouses, and siblings. I love you and you are constantly in my prayers.