by Karen Kennedy
Can you identify a specific event in your childhood that was instrumental in defining your life’s path? Do you think about what events might help determine the path for your child? Do you pray for God to allow your child to do great things? All of us can lead purposeful lives and be greatly influential if we ask God to empower us and our children to do the things for which we are created-to ask Him to use us for His greatness.
The Lord has led me down many different paths, but it is amazing how each one has prepared me for something that he has planned for me to do. I am able to look back at one particular time in my childhood that He has used to change and direct me. In the 5th grade, I was a skinny, confident child who was president of the student council. That summer, I became ill with Rheumatic Fever and was confined to bed for 6 months. I was not allowed to stand or walk at all, having to use a bed pan, be carried to the bathtub, etc. I gained 25 pounds! When I was allowed to return to school, they gave my parents 2 days notice and told me to stand up, walk and resume life. I thought my ankles would break, I had no clothes to wear and I was terrified. This was in 1957 when extremely pointed-toe shoes were in style. I was sent to school in 1” thick, red-soled, round-toed saddle oxfords, a skirt and blouse of my mother’s that she hastily remade and a face as round as a pumpkin! No one recognized me and many made fun of me with sneers and giggles. I needed God desperately and asked Him to allow me to help prevent any other child from having to suffer through such humiliation. I went through a period of anorexia and exercise addiction, trying to make sure that fat little girl never surfaced again. It took many years for God to help me regain my self-confidence, for Him to show me that He loved me unconditionally and would always be there for me, no matter what my physical condition was. I marvel at how much of a change He has allowed to occur. The girl who would break out in hives and almost pass out if she had to get up in front of a group now speaks to groups as large as 500, has taught aerobic classes for over 31 years, has had the privilege of healing people as a physical therapist for 42 years, has been helping people improve their physical condition for 15 years as a personal trainer, has led a non-denominational bible study for 10 years and has been able to do many more things that I could have ever done without being empowered by God. So, while you pray over your children watch for those moments that God might use to direct them in following His plan and bearing much fruit to His glory.
My favorite verse is: “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.
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