PARENTING
"The trouble with parents is, that by the time they are experienced, they are unemployed." Dr. Gordon Livingston
Isn't that the truth?! How would we have known that being a parent is like walking through a maze? A winding world where right means left and left is often downright wrong. There are no perfect paths...or clearly defined road maps...no rules set in stone or guidelines to make you giggle with pleasure 24/7. All too often we feel as though the journey is paved with unintentional pitfalls that are painfully-well-painful.
But-I for one-Love being a parent. And being a single parent has been an unexpected, eye opening experience...Giving me a new appreciation for the DNA that I unleashed into the world...and for my own untapped reservoir of resiliency and old fashioned character. My kids are teaching me about the fragility of life and the awesome autonomy of the living, breathing, spirit within each one of them. Uniquely created and heavenly inspired-their lives are ultimately-God's design...and I marvel at the wisdom that willed these five sons into my life...Think about it-what was God thinking? I have thought about that a lot throughout the last 24 years-and I'm still thinking about it, because quite frankly, every one of my feeble answers seem utterly lacking.
But the bottom line is-I'm on top of the world with heaven's vote of confidence and the surprise packages that have kept me on my toes, deeply in touch with my emotional core and privately glued to the kneeler every chance I get.
There is no better way to know yourself and to get to know your God than through the role of parent. The pluses outweigh the minuses every single time...and the glory outshines the gold every night-when I lay their heads to rest.
I often watch them while they sleep, grateful they are with me, thrilled they are alive and thankful that somehow my life has warranted a willing heart, a generous spirit and enough backbone to get up every morning and believe that this day will be brighter-because I choose to be a parent.
Isn't that the truth?! How would we have known that being a parent is like walking through a maze? A winding world where right means left and left is often downright wrong. There are no perfect paths...or clearly defined road maps...no rules set in stone or guidelines to make you giggle with pleasure 24/7. All too often we feel as though the journey is paved with unintentional pitfalls that are painfully-well-painful.
But-I for one-Love being a parent. And being a single parent has been an unexpected, eye opening experience...Giving me a new appreciation for the DNA that I unleashed into the world...and for my own untapped reservoir of resiliency and old fashioned character. My kids are teaching me about the fragility of life and the awesome autonomy of the living, breathing, spirit within each one of them. Uniquely created and heavenly inspired-their lives are ultimately-God's design...and I marvel at the wisdom that willed these five sons into my life...Think about it-what was God thinking? I have thought about that a lot throughout the last 24 years-and I'm still thinking about it, because quite frankly, every one of my feeble answers seem utterly lacking.
But the bottom line is-I'm on top of the world with heaven's vote of confidence and the surprise packages that have kept me on my toes, deeply in touch with my emotional core and privately glued to the kneeler every chance I get.
There is no better way to know yourself and to get to know your God than through the role of parent. The pluses outweigh the minuses every single time...and the glory outshines the gold every night-when I lay their heads to rest.
I often watch them while they sleep, grateful they are with me, thrilled they are alive and thankful that somehow my life has warranted a willing heart, a generous spirit and enough backbone to get up every morning and believe that this day will be brighter-because I choose to be a parent.
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