Friday, March 27, 2009

Take a stand

Have you met the mother who is friendly, kind, and soft spoken, yet her child is wild, disrespectful, and out of control? This was such an obscurity to me. I wondered at this for time before I realized that these fit together. That mother is so kind and soft spoken that she doesn’t take a stand with her child. That strong-willed child is taking advantage of his/her mother’s good nature.
This was foreign to me since I, on the other hand, was a strong-willed child, who consequently gave birth to two strong willed children myself. (So, if any of my children seem wild, disrespectful, or out of control, it is not because I am too “good natured.” haha) I have my own issues. This is a most difficult part of parenting – your children are smaller versions (at least they start out smaller, my son is now 6'6") of you and your husband, and will respond in a manner because of how you treat them. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that we have to change ourselves if we want a different reaction. The good news is that we can change ourselves and get a different reaction.
You can change your situation. Your child is not hopeless. As I have endeavored to teach my children good character, the Lord has worked on refining my own character. This has helped my children twofold. First, my children are learning Christ-like character and mom is learning to be a better
person, mother, servant.
I pray “Lord reveal to me the areas where I need to grow. Lead me into truth and understanding.”

Nourish Your Child