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Morning
Devotionals
- by Don Emmitte
- February 15th, 2008
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“Be the Parent (Part 1)”
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Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:5-6 Amplified Bible).
Having been involved with ministry to families for many years, I have found very few people who didn't want to follow Solomon's wisdom in our reading today. If you are a parent, you want your children to get the best of care and training. I have also found that many parents are very frustrated with the methodology of handling disobedience.
Sometimes the disobedience is subtle: "I don't want to get in my seat," the youngster says calmly. "I'm tired. Do we have to go to the store today? Could we go tomorrow?" Sometimes it is radical: "I hate my car seat," shrieks the toddler. "I hate this car! I hate you!" And, while there are often many reasons for these outbursts and actions, no one wants to have their parental authority questioned.
When your child's challenge is a mild one, it is upsetting. When the response is extreme, it can be devastating. You think you are failing. Your household has been turned upside down, and you feel like you are the worst parent in the entire world! Those thoughts are very real, but they are not accurate. The question is not, “Who is the worst parent in the entire world?” The question is, “Now what?”
"I am the parent. He is the child." I said those two sentences more than once as we were raising our kids. Who was I trying to convince? Probably both of us: myself and my child. Actually, it was more of a reminder - a reminder I needed when there had been a mysterious role reversal. So what's the answer? There are actually five practical steps that I will suggest in the coming days:
Today, pray that the Lord will give you a sense of power and purpose to truly raise up your children in the way they should go. |
