I Thought I Was Patient… Then I Became a Parent.

I thought I was patient… then I became a parent.
I thought I was flexible… then I became a parent.
Parenting has a way of revealing just how much growing we still have to do.

Some days, it feels like all the fruit of the Spirit is being tested before breakfast. (Can we get an AMEN?!) But maybe that’s the point. Because the work of parenting isn’t just about shaping our kids, it’s about how God is shaping us.

At Everyday Stewards, we believe discipleship doesn’t just happen in Bible studies or Sunday services. It happens in the everyday… in car rides, late nights, and messy kitchens. It’s in these ordinary spaces that the extraordinary call of Jesus, to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, becomes most real.

"Then Jesus called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said, 'Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.'" Mark 8:34

When Jesus spoke these words, He wasn’t offering a gentle suggestion. He was describing the cost (and the beauty) of true discipleship. And for those of us walking through the everyday rhythms of parenting, that call still echoes powerfully today.

"Whoever wants to be My disciple…”

Jesus’ call wasn’t reserved for a select few. It was, and still is, for everyone who desires to follow Him. One of the clearest places where that call takes shape is in parenting. In the middle of laundry piles, tantrums, endless errands, and bedtime prayers, we hear it again: Follow Me. Because raising children isn’t just a family responsibility, it’s a discipleship invitation.

“…must deny themselves…”

Following Jesus isn’t a title; it’s a daily choice. And sometimes, that choice looks like how we parent, love, and lead our kids. It’s not about grand gestures of faith but small acts of surrender. It’s the ways we respond with gentleness instead of anger, prayer instead of panic, humility instead of pride. Parenting becomes a living classroom of discipleship.

Parenting is full of small deaths to self: the quiet surrender of sleep, plans, and control. We deny ourselves not out of pride or duty, but because love calls us to lay ourselves down. Jesus taught that denying ourselves isn’t losing who we are; it’s finding who we’re meant to be: people shaped by love, patience, and grace. Each moment of surrender forms Christ’s character in us.

“…take up their cross…”

Every day offers a cross to carry as we choose patience over anger, grace over frustration, and love over our own way. Parenting constantly asks us to do what the world resists, to serve instead of demand, to forgive instead of hold grudges, to show mercy when it’s undeserved. This is the cost of love. And it’s the shape of real discipleship.

“…and follow Me."

Jesus doesn’t just ask us to carry the cross; He walks with us as we do. Parenting isn’t about perfection, but it’s about presence. It’s about following Christ in the everyday moments that no one else sees. When we walk with Jesus in those moments, our homes become holy ground.

Parenting isn’t just something that teaches the gospel; it’s something that preaches it to us. It reminds us daily of our need for grace, our call to surrender, and the power of love that lays itself down for the sake of another.

"Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me." — Mark 8:34

May we follow Jesus faithfully in our homes, and may our children see the gospel alive in the way we love.