God has temporarily entrusted our kids to our care. He wants us to enjoy them and shape them.
This means making some hard calls and parenting them with a love that includes boundaries, rules, and consequences, discipline, and generous amounts of grace.
What makes our kids happy as teenagers is different from what will make them happy as mature adults. If we parent them correctly, they won't like us somedays.
They won't understand every choice we make. Love wants what is best for a person long term. Love keeps the big picture in mind.
I often think of who I hope my kids will be at the age of forty, and I work backward to ask, what can I do today to cultivate the qualities? I remember these words from a young life pastor:(I was only in high school then) We aren't parenting for our 16-year-old to like us. We're parenting for our 40-year-old to respect us.
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