Morning Devotionals
by Don Emmitte
 
February 20th, 2008

 

“Be the Parent (Part 6)”
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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).

 

The last step is to recognize that you will make mistakes; don't stop, learn from them and persevere. There is no perfect parent. In fact, if you ask any seasoned parent, "Did you always make the right choices?" the honest ones will have to admit that many of their good choices were the result of experience gained from making poor ones. We made mistakes on parenting. You have made mistakes on parenting. That is OK. Do not let those mistakes paralyze you.

 

Being the parent will allow you the opportunity to make mistakes and to ask for forgiveness. The idea is NOT to repeat the same mistakes over and over. To learn as a parent means a change of behavior. The goal is to keep learning and becoming a better parent. In fact, when our children see that we can acknowledge our mistakes; learn from them; and, correct our own direction, it teaches them a lifelong lesson!  

 

I can honestly say that I am still learning how to be a better parent to my grown children. They are adults now. I am very proud that they have learned to “sing their own song” in many ways, however, my role continues. Won't you join me in “Being the Parent!”

 

So, let’s review the five steps:

 

  1. Admit it when there is a problem in need of a solution.
  2. Build your confidence.
  3. See the vision.
  4. Develop a plan.
  5. Know you will make mistakes, and keep on learning.

 

Add in a liberal amount of prayer each day and see if they won’t work!