January 7, 2011

• Quote

  I read this today on Resolved To Worship‘s site, and loved it:

  “A lot of times we can get so involved in some system of child rearing that we forget our little kiddos aren’t projects, but people. The end result of our parenting is not to make sure they make us look good in church, or somehow make us a “success.” Our children are hearts and souls who need relationship without us checking off a check list or matching them to books, seminars and people who tell us how it all should be done.

  They are all different. Discipline is good. It has benefits. It’s good for children to know there are boundaries, goals, direction, vision. That you are the mom, not them – which by the way, that does come to an end too – there really is an age you must claim they are an adult and you need to step OUT. And that’s not age 30.

  But there is more to parenting then teaching little 12 month olds to sit on a blanket and play quietly for an hour. More to making sure they can sit through the church service at a young age so that you can be praised as a spiritual parent. There is more to parenting then making sure your little one somehow sleeps through the night be a certain age or is potty trained before they turn two, sign languages please by the time they are six months and can read by the time they are three.

  Now, granted some folks have kids who do all the above. Some of my kids did a few of those things too, despite me ha! But it won’t make them better adults. It won’t make them better teenagers. And if your kid is perfect, they can’t play with mine LOL!

  ‘Cause I’m not after kids with perfection. I’m after kids who know they have a need for Jesus and have witnessed the failures of their mom and dad and watched their parents humble themselves and be honest with their need for a Savior as well.

  God doesn’t call us to be parents who have it all together. He calls us to be parents who humbly confess we don’t, but we know where to go to find the source of our power in life: Jesus Christ. That’s the bottom line to parenting – relationship with God, drawing near and holding fast to our Guide and Savior.

  Our kids will know the difference. They will know whether we worship ourselves and thus carve on them to make them what we want them to be (just like in the Old Testament when an idol was carved because the children of Israel didn’t believe God was enough).

  And they will know whether we love them more, or the bedtime schedule. Whether we love them more, or making sure they don’t make us look bad on the basketball team. Whether we love them, or being that perfect parent who does it all “right.”

  If a child is loved, loved for who they are and not what they can do or be for us, they will know it.”

  - A. Welch from Resolved to Worship

  • 1:07 pm
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