Let's just be honest and get this out there -
Parenting is tough! So many hats are required and often they must be worn at once. I don't know about you, but there are times not one single hat seems to fit and I want to let my hair fly in the wind and be carefree.
The thing about parenting is that the little people in our lives rely on us for everything. Regardless of how old they are, they want and need someone who will guide them, protect them and constantly have their backs.
Below I listed just a handful of hats we are required to wear-
- Spirit lifter
- Counselor
- Chauffeur
- Personal shopper
- Confidant
- Homework helper
- Chef
- Role model
- Boo boo repair person
- Teacher of Jesus
- Forgiver
- Grace giver
- Relationship coach
A friend of mine said something huge to me the other day and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. She said -
God entrusted US to raise His children. Would you trust just anyone with your children?? He must really love us and trust us to hand over His babes to us.
Her statement has caused me to really investigate the way I parent. How am I talking to my kids? Do they feel completely safe with me or do they fear telling me things? Am I protecting them from the world, yet teaching them how to live in it with Jesus as their guide? Do I show them grace just as my Father shows me?
That is a lot to think about, isn't it??
As parents, it is our number one job to teach our children the love of Jesus. We are to help them as they grow hearts for Him. This cannot be done with merely words. We must live it every single minute of every single day. We must love them with open hearts that accept their quirky ways and hard heads.
When our children mess up, speak to us in ugly tones or are just in rotten moods we have to show them grace. That doesn't mean we allow them to act like hooligans. But it means we never withhold love and we offer forgiveness.
Loving our children the way our Savior loves us means never shaming them. We must never make them feel unworthy or unloved, regardless of what they have done. Let's face it, we have done way worse and Jesus never shames us. He loves us through it with redirection and guidance.
As parents, we are going to mess up. There will be days that we are certain God should have never entrusted us with His babes. These are days where we will have to ask for forgiveness from our children. While we may feel like idiots, these times are perfect learning opportunities for us and our children. It is good for them to see us mess up and it is good for them to see that we, too, must ask for forgiveness. They will learn the art of forgiveness and grace not only from our examples but also from our mistakes. God can always take the ugly and make it beautiful.
Parenting is tough - the toughest thing we will ever do well - but it is so worth it. The love that blossoms is worth more than gold.
xoxo
