Parents are Like the Little Engine That Could

By the time we become parents, life has provided us with moments of defeat and victory. Our Adolescent Story may have chapters of disappointment. Our Young Adult Story may be like a meandering river. Becoming a person of faith is undoubtedly the epiphany of Our Life Story. We hope and pray that this gut-wrenching, nail-biting drama called Life ends well for all involved.

In terms of parenting, no matter how many books we read, friends we meet for coffee, or how much babysitting we did as teens, we are never adequately advised and prepared for the drama that unfolds once that first child comes into our home. The blessed Parent Story! What a surprise when we feel the love overflow as we gaze, cuddle a helpless newborn, or feel the hand clutch from a newly adopted child! Children are wonderful. We can give them wonder-filled lives. Sure, our best efforts are sometimes ineffectual. However, we keep trying. Our hearts incessantly burn with an inexplicable love for our children.  Yet, sometimes in our responses and reactions, we don’t love well. Our own humanity will look uglier than we ever knew it could be.

Allowing ourselves to be changed by this journey is worth it.  Like the scripture says, our latter will be better than our past.  (Revelation 21: 4)

Time to Plant a Fruit Tree

Let’s embrace the rigors of personal transformation and be grateful that our little mirrors make us self-aware. If we refrain from guilt and self-condemnation, we can allow our child-rearing episodes to serve as opportunities to be molded by the hand of our loving Creator.

(Excerpt from Cultivating the Souls of Parents. )

I’m excited about the first book in my Cultivating Series series. It’s been a loonngg process. God wanted this book to simmer for a few years, but He does that in many areas of our lives doesn’t He? I pray you are blessed as you read!

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