June 26
Scripture: Gen 6:6
Source author: Janet Graham
June 26
Broken Hearts So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them. . . . It broke his heart. —Genesis 6:6
I love the peace of a quiet house. It’s still nice after my thirteen-year-old son gets home from school. But the moment my seven-year-old girl walks in, the spats begin. It’s not just her or him. It’s both of them. No matter how I try to regain that peace, it just doesn’t happen; the kids are home and sibling rivalry is in full swing. And at those moments, it’s really hard not to think, Why did I ever have kids? When I read this verse it suddenly struck me: God “was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart.” Wow! This verse reminds me that when our kids make a mess of things, God knows how we feel. So what did God do? He didn’t give up on humans. He found the salvageable element and began working with it. Depending on our kids’ ages, we can only do so much when they’ve tangled their lives. But we can follow God’s example and give our kids—and other mess-makers in our lives— another chance; we can believe in them and keep working with them.
When your kids, or others, break your heart, go to God—He knows how you feel! — Janet Graham —