Parenting sure can be a difficult situation at times. I find myself praying a great deal about obstacles we face. Lately those obstacles are things such as dating, talent shows, makeup, birthday parties, movies etc.
As the three kids become teenagers I find that I lean to the Lord for understanding even more. I try to think of what the rules were in our home, how I reacted to them, what worked and what didn't. I think of what we learned growing up in church. I think of the world we live in now and what battle I am sticking to and what I will ease up on. A give and take approach.
The Lord promises some basic principles when it comes to parenting.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6
It also talks very candidly about how we approach our children too. I find that this is ever so useful. For example in the lines of dating. Our oldest son has no interest, he has been very easy to raise in this respect. He is very school oriented. He is in 10th grade and dating is not even on his life plan yet. Our middle son was a little girl crazy early on. He probably mildly has some interest but for the most part is just enjoying life. Our daughter has had one interest since early on last year. We continue to state that she is not 16 so dating is off limits. It does not mean she cannot be good friends with this boy. We encourage open communication though.
This bible verse led us to an important decision this week,
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged Colossians 3:21
The reason I say this? See she came home this week and let me know she would like to sing in the talent show with this said boy. My first instinct was leary with the wording okay.. Then I found out their choice of song. My instincts became a very steady- this is not a good idea. Her dad came home and I let him know the plan. He was less thrilled then I was. Then I realized let it play out. Why make a big fuss out of something that was really not a big deal. It was a song. I needed to pick my battles.
The Lord worked in our faith. She is not singing the song with the boy afterall, she decided that her and two friends felt their voices did not match enough and she would not likely win. She also decided he made her too nervous. She was simply just going to sing her solo piece.
I was a very happy Mamma!
We have had this same approach with spending time with friends, make up, going to movies without any adults etc. It is hard to always make the right call. I have to always lean on faith that the Lord is watching over them. The world moves so quickly these days. I feel like children grow up so early and face so many adult decisions before they are ready. I pray that we continue to try to not be friends with our children. Not get caught up in the ideas of their firsts- like dances, dating etc. We continue to help them build good character and serve the Lord through the choices they make.
I leave you with another wonderful verse. May you have a very Blessed Weekend. Remember to take time to really connect with your children or loved ones. What you do today really does make a difference.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.Psalm 103:13
