parenting Archives - Kristina Lunde

August 30, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Eve: My Sin and God’s Mercy

Painted by Henry Styleman LeStrange, 1858, on the Nave Ceiling, Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, England. Image by Reissaamme from Pixabay

Dear Modern Mama,
Even if you don’t spend much time in the Bible, you’ve probably heard of me. I’m Eve, the first woman on earth, the mother of all mothers. Perhaps you have heard of the beautiful garden where my husband Adam and I made our first home. Newlyweds with a great place to live—rent-free, an in-person relationship with our Lord God, and the most incredible flowers you have ever seen. I could go on and on about the incredible flora and fauna, but it all changed suddenly and dramatically, which is what I want to talk about.

Have you ever sinned? I learned about sin by experience—sadly, I’m one of the original experts on it. I define sin as anything I think, say, or do that disobeys God. Have you thought, spoken, or acted against God and then felt guilty? What made you realize that you sinned against God? Perhaps the Holy Spirit convicted you. That can be tough, but imagine God’s conviction given in-person! Very scary, which is why my husband Adam and I initially hid from God. When God asked Adam directly if he had eaten from the tree that God commanded us not to, we knew we were caught in our sin. Guilty. Both of us. The blaming followed: Adam blamed me and I blamed the serpent. My advice? Don’t try the “he said/she said” argument in front of our all-knowing God. I don’t recommend it.

After that confrontation, the more that Adam and I recognized our sins, the more we felt guilty. Our Creator God loved and provided for us. The one thing He warned us about is what I disobeyed. How could I turn my back on my loving Lord God to believe that lying serpent? That serpent did nothing but deceive me! In contrast, God had created, provided for, and loved me personally and unconditionally. What was I thinking?! I turned my back on all of that to believe a lie. And I acted in disobedience. And then, I talked my husband into doing the same.

Caught. Found guilty. Punished. Both Adam and I had to live out the consequences of our sins. We shifted from the purity of God’s creation to covering our guilty shameful selves with leaves. God drove us away from His presence. From an easy life as caretakers of God’s beautiful garden with readily available food, we were forced out—to a life of hard work. As sinful beings, we could no longer stay in the garden with our holy Lord God. That’s when my terror of snakes started. (And, Modern Mama, I’m sorry about that childbirth pain! Please know that I experienced the same curse—that nasty labor pain—because my firstborn Cain was born outside the garden.)

Yes, we once had it all: time with God in-person and a care-free, purposeful life. Our sins interrupted everything and shut us out of God’s presence. But God was merciful and did not punish us with immediate death as our sins deserved. (He even made garments for us out of animal skins!) In the middle of the consequences given for our sins, God gave the first promise of His Messiah. That gave us hope. Although no longer present in-person, God remained a significant part of our lives. Through backbreaking labor (both in farming and childbirth), parenting, dealing with our kids’ sibling rivalry, and other challenges, we always kept the hope of God’s promise. We knew there was a better place, because we had seen and experienced it.

Modern Mama, you have God’s promises in writing. As you may have read, I committed awful sins, but I also experienced God’s mercy. He didn’t kill me for my sins, even though I truly deserved death as a consequence. We all do! But God sent His son—in-person—to sacrifice for all of our sins. Take it from me, God is merciful and and He offers forgiveness. Please don’t give up hope. Read your Bible for the whole story.

And remind me to tell you about that beautiful garden . . .
Eve

July 18, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Job’s Wife on Grief and Bitterness

Dear Modern Mama,

No, you probably don’t know much about me. I’m not a Bible superstar or good example of faith. In fact, the infamous line I am known for is, “Curse God and die!” (Thankfully, my words are only recorded in one Bible verse, Job 2:9.) Despite that, I hope to encourage you to seek God during the grief and suffering that life inevitably brings.

As my husband Job lay in ashes scraping his painful wounds, I questioned how he could maintain his faith. That’s when I urged him to give up on God and give in to death. I did not mean for Job to take his own life. Instead, I meant that he should blame God and let death take him, since he was half-dead already. Yes, I wrongly said evil things as I wallowed in my grief and bitterness. At the time, I didn’t know what else to do but blame God. Enemy raids, sword attacks, deadly fires, and fierce winds killed animals and people, including our ten children. My precious children! Taken from us in multiple sudden catastrophes. My entire life as a mother wiped out. Farmworkers, shepherds, nannies: all employees gone in an instant. Our livelihood ruined. I felt crushed and overwhelmed by grief and sorrow.

I got angry at God and succumbed to bitterness. Job’s friends sat with him for one week in empathy and mourning. I couldn’t stand being near Job because of his stinky breath and those putrid boils. Now, I am ashamed of my actions and of how I blamed God. I write to you in hopes that you will follow my husband Job’s example instead of mine. Don’t be like me and let grief and bitterness take over your heart until you shut out God. Notice that I am never named, and never again quoted, in the Bible.

Job maintained his close relationship with God. Despite being confronted and accused by his friends, Job kept his faith and integrity throughout his trials. He rebuked me for my comments, but he did not sin. How could he keep trusting in God after all that we had experienced?! Job questioned, but respected God. He challenged God, yet submitted to Him. Job wailed in pain, but trusted God for help. I did none of that. How I wish I had turned to God with my grief and anger like my husband did. Check out my husband’s book of Job to read the laments of his heart as he expressed them to God. Yes, Job maintained his integrity. Regretfully, I did not.

Dear friend, please trust God no matter what you are going through. Know that our God is big enough to handle any anger and emotions you feel. God can help you deal with the trials of your life. When life hurts and death seems like a better option, God can teach you to trust and submit to Him. Our God may not answer with specific reasons why, but He will guide and sustain you through everything you experience. Although I learned these lessons late, I share my story—and what I learned from my husband—with you.

By watching my husband Job deal with his suffering, I learned so much about God. Yes, my man of God stayed married to me, and later we had ten more children. I did not deserve God’s favor. Like He did for Job’s friends, God blessed me because of my husband’s faithfulness to God. How I wish I had trusted God, like my husband Job did, to help me through grief and suffering! My bitterness and resentment against God consumed me. I pray that you would avoid my sinful path and instead turn toward God during sorrow and trials.

Praying for our dear Lord to teach you through my mistakes.
Job’s wife

June 26, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Jochebed: Obedience over Fear

Dear Modern Mama,
Obeying God challenged me to face my fears about raising kids in our situation. Both Levites, my husband Amram and I (Jochebed) lived in Egypt with all the other Israelites. The Egyptians had long forgotten God’s miraculous famine relief administered through our forefather Joseph. A new pharaoh, the reigning Egyptian king, felt threatened by our numbers and forced us into slave labor. I worked the fields with the women, and my dear Amram laid bricks with the men. Hebrew children had to fend for themselves as their parents worked for the Egyptian slavemasters. Amram and I feared bringing children into this world; our people had been slaves for generations. God’s covenant promises of a nation and land of our own seemed impossible. Sometimes I found it difficult to obey God and trust His care for our family.

Into that life of slave labor, I again became pregnant. My two other children, Aaron and Miriam, would soon be old enough to start in the fields. The pharaoh begrudged our people’s strength and population growth. He ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys they delivered, but, thankfully, they refused. Into this scary world, my baby boy was born. My beautiful boy, born healthy and whole! But then the pharaoh ordered the Egyptians to kill newborn Hebrew boys by throwing them into the Nile River. They drowned innocent baby boys! So much sorrow and wailing!

As parents, we all think our children are the best and most special. Of course we do! We have the closest perspective of our kids and see them through the lens of our love and support. We are grateful for these precious gifts from God. I felt the same way about all my children, including my newest baby. God gave Amram and me a plan to save our baby boy. Since the Hebrew women avoided the Nile, we thought the Egyptians would never look there for Hebrew boys. I wove a basket to float my baby on the water, hiding him in the bulrushes along the Nile. While Amram and I worked during the day, Miriam watched her baby brother. I feared seeing them both drowned in the Nile! All I could do was trust God and obey what He had asked us to do.

I remember the day Miriam ran to the field, screaming for me to come to the river. I feared that my baby was dead, but as we ran, Miriam told me that pharaoh’s daughter had discovered our baby and had compassion. Miriam told me that the woman wanted to save him, but I feared that this was a plot to kill all of us. When we got to the river, Miriam’s words proved true. The pharaoh’s daughter wanted to save my Hebrew son! Would you believe she paid me to nurse my own baby?!

After purposefully floating my baby boy on the river of death, that became the site of God’s miracle of redemption when pharaoh’s daughter pulled my son out of the water. Actually, that’s what she named my boy—Moses—which means “drawn out of the water.” (Read about it in Exodus 1 and 2.) After I weaned Moses, I brought him back to the royal household to be raised as pharaoh’s daughter’s own son. Sometimes I feared, questioned, and ached in sorrow over not raising my boy.

Thankfully, God helped me push past my fear to obey Him and to trust that He would take care of Moses. I learned that obeying God is worthwhile, even at the risk of my life and my children’s lives. Not until after my death did I find out what God did through Moses—and all of my children, as recorded in the rest of the Torah. God even called my kids leaders (Micah 6:4)!

To our people in Egypt, it seemed like God had forgotten us in our slavery and sorrow. I focused on saving my baby from drowning, but God had a bigger plan. My Lord God rescued Moses from death and into God’s plan to bring life, redemption, and freedom to all of His people.

May God help you with the incredible children He has entrusted to you. May He teach you to obey Him even when you fear for your family, when you do not understand God’s plan, and when you do not know the outcome.

Sending you encouragement from the river of life,
Jochebed

May 27, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Sarah: Trusting God through Travels and Trials

Dear Modern Mama,

Abram and I began our lives together in Ur of the Chaldeans (on your map, southern Iraq). I had no idea what adventures, travels, and trials awaited us in our marriage! From Ur, we traveled to Haran (i.e. southeastern Turkey), where God spoke to my husband. That is where our journey of trusting God began.

Abram changed after God spoke those prophetic words. God promised to make my husband into a great nation, bless him, and make him a blessing to others. God prophesied that Abram’s name would be great, and all peoples on earth would be blessed through him. All that for my husband, the nomad! I dreaded moving again, but I agreed with Abraham’s commitment to follow God’s directions. This time, we traveled to Canaan (i.e. Israel and Jordan). All that travel left us exhausted: no roads, no vehicles, and, imagine this, no air conditioning!

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Our arrival in Canaan came during the big famine, so Abram decided to take us to Egypt. His big scheme in Egypt made me uncomfortable from the beginning. Abram feared that because of my beauty, he risked being killed. He chose to lie to everyone, telling them that I was his sister, not his wife. That did not help me because, separated from my dear husband, I ended up in a harem not knowing if Abram stayed safe. That scared me! Suddenly plagues affected Pharaoh and his household. (Note: the Exodus plagues happened hundreds of years later when our descendants were Egyptian slaves.) When Pharaoh confronted Abram about the awful plagues, Abram told the truth about me. I thought Abram and I would both be killed, but thankfully, we got sent away and we returned to Canaan.

Children are everything in my culture: joy, purpose, household help, work force, retirement plan, status symbol, and more. Infertility bothered me so much in those first decades, even though traveling seemed easier without the challenges of parenting. God’s covenant with Abram promised as many descendants as the stars in the sky. I ached to bear children those first decades of waiting, but I aged-out of having a family. I assumed that Abram’s nation would not happen through me, because I never got pregnant. In Genesis 16-18, you will read how trusting God was hard for me: I doubted God’s plan and made sinful choices, trying to find a way to bring children into our family. After I realized my sin, I doubted that God loved me enough to give me the privilege of bearing and raising children.

Please read my story for yourself and learn the lessons that took me almost a century to understand: God is faithful and He always fulfills His plans. Expect challenges along the way as God builds your faith and teaches you to trust Him. For me, trusting God involved travels along dusty roads, multiple international moves, and almost three-quarters of a century of infertility. Abram and I experienced tent living, an Egyptian king’s hospitality, and then expulsion from Egypt. I often felt both frustration while submitting to my husband and resentment at my infertility.

One important truth that I learned: God’s perspective is very different—much bigger and grander—than my personal viewpoint. Please learn this from my experience: do not doubt or underestimate God’s plans. I admit that my response to God’s plan included disobedience, disbelief, and laughter. God called my husband into a covenant for all generations and times. God also changed our names to Abraham and Sarah, which confirmed the prophecy that we would be the father and mother of nations. When the angels visited, my own ears heard the prophecy that Abraham and I would become parents. I laughed and doubted, but it happened within a year, just as God promised.

The miracle of Isaac’s birth meant that I had a part in the covenant. These events filled my heart more than I could have hoped or imagined. Following God is not boring or fruitless, but neither is it easy or predictable. God’s plan made my suffering worthwhile. Keep trusting God through whatever travels and trials happen in your life. Don’t be like me and spend decades disbelieving God’s plan! Obeying God is the best and most fulfilling adventure you can pursue.

Love to you from this ancient mama,
Sarah

March 28, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Rebekah’s Advice: Avoid Favoritism

Dear Modern Mama,
Long ago, before any children or favoritism, I moved from far away to marry my husband Isaac. My father-in-law Abraham sent his servant back to their country of origin and that’s where he found me. All I did was offer a drink of water to a weary traveler and his camels, but that hospitality answered a specific prayer of Abraham’s servant. (Check out Genesis 24 for details of God’s miracle.)

Although Isaac and I loved each other, I did not get pregnant after almost twenty years of marriage. They called me barren, but Isaac prayed for me to conceive and God answered Isaac’s prayer. God answered with a two-for-one miracle, but the pregnancy felt awful. Like a war between twins in my belly! I wanted to die. Didn’t think I could take it much longer, so I asked the Lord about it.

When the Lord confirmed the conflict inside of me, He said it would extend throughout my twins’ lives. Two babies, two nations, two peoples. They would be divided, with one stronger than the other and the elder serving the younger. Isaac and I didn’t really understand the entire prophecy, but it made sense later as we raised our boys.

From birth on, the boys were opposites. Our oldest, Esau, had red hair on a hairy body. He loved the outdoors and developed good hunting skills. As a tough hunter, Esau became Isaac’s favorite. They loved to eat wild game and talk about hunting. My Jacob had a quieter nature and liked to stay home. I loved having him around the tent to keep me company; you could say I favored him.

Esau and Jacob fought a lot, mostly because they were so different. Once Esau came in hungry after a long day outside and demanded some of the stew Jacob had cooked over the fire. (Did I mention that my Jacob was a great cook?!) Jacob insisted that Esau sell his birthright in exchange for the stew. In desperation, Esau traded his privileges as the oldest son for Jacob’s bread and lentil stew. Not a fair trade, but no one could change the outcome of their decisions.

Other battles followed. My favoritism toward Jacob progressed to a desperate desire to get the birthright blessings for him. I sinned against God and my family as I lowered myself to lie, cheat, and even betray my husband. I am ashamed of the treachery that I encouraged in Jacob when my dear Isaac lay on his deathbed. (Genesis 27 tells the full story.) Our sins only worsened the family conflicts, sibling rivalry, and long-term consequences.

My advice to you, modern mama, is to avoid favoritism. Recognize your child’s unique nature as a gift from God. Our Creator God gives children different skills, character traits, and interests. Do not let that determine how much you love your child or what you will do for him. Take it from me, the consequences of favoritism and deceitful maneuvering to get advantages for your child will only cause heartache—for a long time! I learned that lesson the hard way.

Trust my advice: the best way to parent your children is to follow God’s way and love all of your children wholeheartedly.

Shalom, in your relationship with God and also in your parenting.
Rebekah