Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.~Proverbs 22:6
Had a bit of a parental brainstorm last night. At least I'm going to call it that. Gary and I were talking about the kids, how we've raised them, the mistakes we've made, the successes....you get where I'm going. As we talked and shared, something hit me and I'm not sure why this hasn't happened before. Most likely the opportunity hasn't arisen in the past. I realized that while we've done our best, and not-so our best in raising these kids, the end result is up to them. I've got to stop thinking I can control where they go after we release them to the world.
And let me tell you, as I let that sink in, a peace came over me that was such a relief. I can't say as that peace of mind has lingered solidly through today, but I can grasp it to myself from time to time. It's coming clearer to me.
While I'd love to say that they all want to follow the Lord as clearly as some of them do, I can't. There is rebellion. One is reluctant to go to church anymore, and has allowed work to interfere with that schedule. He's been given the ultimatum of 'if you live here, you go to church.' New rule with this latest fiasco from his brother. It's easy to be sloppy about church attendance sometimes. And with one son fancying rebellion, it's funny but that son seems to enjoy church, yet isn't consistent with it. That's probably been part of his downfall into waywardness. The rest will gladly attend, though with varying amounts of enthusiasm.
Must remember to live my own life, guard theirs when I can with prayer and availability to listen, but have to keep hands off more. The youngest still get managed, but as they grow away from me, I've got to learn to let go. Not easy, but necessary.
Guess parenting is about the mother and father growing as well. Growing pains aren't called 'pains' for nothing.
