the test results... are in

And the Lord said to Moses:
“Behold, you will rest with your fathers;
and this people will rise and play the harlot
with the gods of the foreigners of the land,
where they go to be among them,
and they will forsake Me and break My covenant
which I have made with them.
Deuteronomy 31:16 NKJV

So, God tells Moses that he has come to the end of his days,
but that these people... the children of Israel,
after all of Moses' teaching and warning...
will still turn to other gods once they enter the promised land.

And honestly, it breaks my heart for Moses.
especially after yesterday's test.
I mean, I told you that I was a teacher.
And strange as this may seem...
grading tests is actually not all that fun.
Because when a student didn't do well...
I felt personally responsible.
Like somehow... there was something I said... that confused them.
Or there was something that I could have said differently... that would have made a difference and they would have learned it. Somehow... somehow, I always felt it was a reflection on me as a teacher, if my student did not perform well.

And I wonder if Moses ever felt that way...
as he stood there listening to God tell him that these people would fail the test.
That these people would cross over and turn to other gods.

I know it's easy to feel this way as a parent as well.
As if all of their choices... good and bad, are a reflection on me;
on how I raised them.
And in part, how we raise them influences their choices.
But what our children choose, is not our choice.
They too... just like the children of Israel, have a free will.

And we must come to a place, as Moses must have...
that we have done all that we can.
And then pray like crazy over them!
Because they have to cross over into adulthood...
and I long for them to choose Him as their own God as well.

Word of God... train me, today...
to make right choices and teach my children to do the same,
to lift my children in prayer daily, trusting You fully to guide them through life.

Lord,
thank You for my children
and for the opportunity to teach them Your ways.
I pray that they will be drawn to You,
will remember Your ways
and live in Your will.

When they wander,
chase after them
bringing them back to Your fold
and guide them always.
I trust You fully
and give them to You.