“The Lord is… longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9
Stop and think about God’s kindness in patiently waiting for you to come to Him in salvation, realizing your need for His saving grace.
He played the long game for your heart—through the mess, through the waiting, and through the pain—not willing to let you perish, because He kept the end result of your salvation in mind.
And even after your salvation, he is long-suffering and patient with you in the daily process of changing you into becoming more like Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
What a beautiful picture of parenting.
Parenting in the moment is messy, painful, and at times, frustrating. But parenting in the end is rewarding, fulfilling, and eternal.
God has called us to “long game” parenting. This requires having a clear end goal for our children—raising godly adults who love and follow Jesus for the rest of their lives.
This shapes the way we see our children as continual works in progress, rather than trophies of perfect parenting.
It allows us to have a more patient parenting perspective (with both our kids and ourselves), as God has with us.
Healthy Evaluation
A couple of questions to consider:
- Am I allowing my kids to be in process, or expecting them to have it all together?
- Am I expecting perfection or direction?
- Am I showing my kids the same kind of patience and grace God gives to me?
If we expect perfection from our kids, we’ll be continually frustrated and not fun to be around. Our home will be marked by irritation, tension, and struggle.
However, when we see our kids as moldable clay in the process of becoming, our home and our approach will naturally take on a posture of patience, longsuffering, and grace—even when we have to be firm.
Why? Because we see the end goal of our parenting, not just the immediate moment of frustration it causes. Our long-game parenting starts showing.
Trusting the Process
Just like a leaky faucet fills a bucket over time, your “leaky faucet consistency” helps you succeed at long-game parenting. One drop at a time. One moment at a time. One day at a time.
This means trusting God to use you as His agent of change in your child’s life, in both small and big ways, always pointing them to Jesus. Because even when you don’t see immediate results, you’re learning to trust in the process.
God didn’t give up on you. Don’t give up on them. Play the long game.
