Holy Knees

Day 14_365 by Megapixx_Flicr.com_5747041178_5d7d312d94_CC BY ND 2.0

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. " 1 Samuel 1:27-28

I crawled on my knees, for what seemed like forever, after my babies were born. As soon as they got past the sleeping/eating/sleeping routine and stayed awake to play for awhile, I was on the floor cooing and playing with them while they got their necessary social and physical exercise. Then they became mobile and I was on my knees making sure the house was baby proofed, crawling with them, chasing after them and picking up the debris (also known as toys) they left in their wake.

Prior to babies, a pair of jeans lasted me a few years. Post babies, they wore out at the knees after only a year. I remember reserving one pair of jeans as my "good jeans"; the ones I only wore out in public or on a date with my husband because they didn't show where my knees were.

Children grew into adolescents and I often missed those days of holy-kneed jeans. I didn't miss the physical exhaustion as much as the uncomplicated simplicity of those peanut butter and jelly vs. bologna and cheese type of days. It was stepping back as they made their own decisions - good and bad - when I wished for simpler days.

When boundaries set meant boundaries tested I found myself back on my knees. But this time, instead of crawling after them, I was crawling toward Jesus' feet. I was on my knees praying for them - for God’s Truth to pierce their hearts and redirect their paths. There were days, weeks, months, and years when I wondered if God heard me.

Then He reminded me of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:27-28:

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord.”

Like Hannah, I prayed specifically for my children and dedicated them to the Lord as infants. But somehow through the years I took back possession. I’d forgotten they were God’s gifts with their own hearts, traveling their own God-journeys.

And so, back on my knees, I offered my children back to the Lord - trusting His plans for them - knowing the same God who promised to never leave me nor forsake me offered those same promises to my children.

How's the knees of your jeans looking today?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." 
Proverbs 3:5, 6