This struggle of provision, like all the others, pushes us to our knees and makes us remember that we have a Father who doesn’t struggle at all. He knows how to provide for His children: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:11-13).

Being a parent is about providing. It’s about providing safety, security, wisdom, direction, food, clothes, and pretty much everything else. You provide for your kids. Now when the kids are small, that provision is a bit less complicated I think.

But with every passing year, that good intention of provision gets more difficult. Here are a couple of ways, as the kids get older, that parents struggle in the area of provision:

1. We struggle to provide enough.

As kids get older, things get more expensive. You have to buy more groceries, more pairs of shoes, and bigger clothes. And, usually, as kids start to grow, they also start to become more specific.

It’s not that they need shoes; it’s that they need those shoes. And it’s not that they need transportation, they need that transportation. This is a hard and sacrificial thing for parents because sometimes—many times—our earning doesn’t exactly keep pace with what the kids need. Or at least what they think they need.

We want our children to trust us. To feel secure with us. And to be comfortable enough with us to let us know what they think we need, even if those expressions of need are sometimes difficult to fulfill. It’s our job, as parents, to interpret the difference between what they think they need, and what they actually need. Which leads to the second struggle with provision:

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