Strategy 10: Attacking Your Relationship With Your Children (Don't Let The Devil Steal Your Motherhood)

If I were your enemy, I'd work to create division between you and your children. I would seek to dissolve any potential your children and you could make uniting against me. I would scheme to make you operate individually, blinding you and your children from the truth of how much you need each other. Strength in family and unity of purpose… I would not allow things like these to go unchecked ~

  Lord have mercy! God never fails to have me walk through the fire I am talking about. This finale post of "Don't Let The Devil Steal Your Motherhood" fits right into life right now. We currently are not having the attack, but I fear it is brewing and gearing up depending on a large decision that needs to be made. 
  Last week, Leonidas, my middle child, the one always placed on the back burner, sweet and STRONG son, was invited to join the competitive team for his gymnastics. There is a testing period; a test of strength and a test of endurance, four test total. He has passed 3/4 above average. Here is my dilemma, to commit to this path for him would mean extreme sacrifices for everyone else in the family. Ten hours of practice a week, eight state competitions all over Florida, in a nutshell this road would take up 1/7 of our year. And it is an every year commitment. The cost is staggering in itself, but the time is the more pressing concern. This week the other two have already been voicing objections to having to "go and be bored" at his classes. If you haven't noticed this is a Thursday post because I couldn't get to my blog yesterday, it has already begun changing the family dynamics and routines. 
  I am afraid of this commitment. I am afraid this will hurt our family, but I am afraid I am being selfish to hold my little Grunt back for an amazing opportunity... So this brings us to today's blog, and the already present attacks the devil makes against our relationships with our children. 
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The devil always plans on hitting you where it hurts, and his most aggressive strategy and strongest battle plan is severing our relationships with our children. There will come a time, if it has not happened to you already, when your children will say something or do something that cuts you to your core. For me I have tasted that putrid flavor when Briseis spoke her first hurtful words, "Mommy, I don't love you anymore." Wham! Direct hit! She said it so calmly but with full malice. She was only 3 or 4. I was devastated. How could my sweet baby girl, whom I loved so much feel that way about me…already?! Of course I know she didn't understand what she was saying, but she was feeling something towards me that was not loving.
  The devil will set our kids against us: The first attack as we have seen from above will sadly be from our children. Because they are not fully able to comprehend what love is, let alone Christlike love; he will put on their tongues phrases that will cut us to our soul. It will leave a small wound, nothing our Father can't heal, but a wound non the less. 
  The devil will use us against our kids: This can't be right, can it? Us be against our children, the ones we gave life? The ones whom we held their heads in the palms of our hands when they were once so small. But the devil is conniving, he will put a veil upon our eyes. He will have us harden our hearts to them. As crazy as that sounds that it he ultimate goal. We will say things to them that will hurt them. We will accuse falsely, yell out of sinful rage, hurt their spirit, diminish their joy for life. 
  Ultimately the devil will try everything to sever the bond: He will destroy the bond of mother and child. Without God intertwining between our children and us, we will not be strong enough to hold onto the relationship God had in store for us. It will be starved of love, grace,understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. Instead it will be consumed with resentment, hurt, bitterness, anger, frustration, unforgiveness, and hate. After time goes by and wounds continue to be made neither party will see the loss until it is too late. At that point the devil has won a huge victory. The pathetic Christian generation we were seeking to create was defeated right before our blind eyes.

Did this scare you? IT SHOULD!!! Satan has no plans for you to love let alone speak to your children in the end. He is here for one purpose in your calling of motherhood. One purpose for your children and you… to lie, destroy and kill ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that pulls you
and your children to Jesus and to each other. And that is seriously scary stuff. The gospel we believe in was and is meant to be shared TOGETHER, both the giving and receiving of grace, inspiring each of us to strive for a relationship with our children that shines outwards to others and draws them in. So lets fight back!

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Step 1: Pray WITH Your Children

We have plenty of other strategies that we can pray on our own time. But Satan is after our relationship with our children NOW. Get them in on the fight! Start disciplining them in how to fight back. There is no time to wait. Pray with them about anything and everything. Let them speak from their hearts to our Father even if their prayers are, lets face it, sometimes petty. You can be sure, our Father is smiling in love for their words to Him. Let them also hear our prayers. That is how, as they age they will learn how powerful we can be with God always there. 

Philippians 2:2-4 - Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely
look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Step 2: Communicate WITH Your Children

"Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I DON'T THINK SO!!! Words do hurt. If they didn't then the statistics for suicide, divorce, etc would be way lower. A friend of mine had her nephew try to hang himself at the age of 9 because of words. Words can and do hurt. It is the devil's biggest weapon against us. Not only can he influence people to say hurtful things, but even if what they say isn't hurtful; he can manipulate the receiver into thinking they heard something entirely different. So use his own weapon against him, talk with your children. When something they say is hurtful talk to them about it. Try to find out if the words they are using match the way they are feeling. If they do seek the Bible for guidance on how to help them resolve those feelings. If we do this then they will be open with us when we have said or done something to hurt them. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 - Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 

Step 3: Grow YOUR Army

We want to have Satan scared. We want to have his tools against us useless. Because if we can have peace in a Christlike relationship with our children, then we are creating witnesses. Now we are moving as one body, with one purpose. Now we have strength in numbers. Our children, like us, were born to be warriors. Each one has a very strategic purpose that God needs them to fulfill. We need to be their
commanders. They need to have such a strong relationship with us that when the devil tries to attack they know God and their mothers are right there to back them up. Teach them now! Teach them how to fight Satan right this minute.

Psalm 18:32-34 - The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 

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  So now I must weigh the options before me, carefully praying for wisdom to see where the devil will attack in both outcomes, how I will fight the attacks, how in the end (no matter what) my relationship with my children stays strong as well as their relationship with EACH OTHER; because one day I wont be here and they will still need each other.

Isaiah 41:10 - Fear not, for I am with you: be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand~

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FINAL BATTLE STRATEGY:  PRAYER ROOM - EVEN IF YOU CAN'T CLEAN OUT AN ENTIRE ROOM OR CLOSET, FIND A SECRET PLACE TO PUT YOUR MOST URGENT PRAYERS.  VISIT IT EVERY DAY. SEEK THE LORD IN THIS PLACE AND WATCH YOUR LIFE CHANGE.
MATTHEW 6:6 - BUT WHEN YOU PRAY, GO INTO YOUR ROOM, CLOSE THE DOOR AND PRAY TO YOUR FATHER, WHO IS UNSEEN. THEN YOUR FATHER, WHO SEES WHAT IS DONE IN SECRET, WILL REWARD YOU
Are you ready mommy? Are you ready to take your weapons into battle and reclaim your motherhood? Reclaim your calling? 


Credit and quotes from Fervent and the ​Holy Bible