Sharing in your children’s pain and joy is the most precious privilege anyone could have, whether you are their Mum, Dad or spiritual parent. When they come to you and say “Mum can I talk to you about something” and you get that sinking feeling you can do one of three things, firstly be very proud that you have the kind of relationship where they can trust you with their secrets, secondly feel very honoured and give them all the time they need, or thirdly run a mile!
By the grace of God and a lot of hard work I have an amazing relationship with my girls. It has taken a lot of investing in, a lot of being honest, a lot of saying sorry when I messed up, a lot of laughs and twice as many tears. Yet is it my greatest achievement. I’m not saying that I am ‘supermum’ (the thong on the outside of my jeans is not a good look!) neither do I want you to think I am bragging because I fall down just as many times as I get it right and it is really heart wrenching tough work. But being real and honest with my girls has allowed them to be the same with me.
It’s the same with anything you put into life, any relationship or any job. The more you invest the better it is. Which is all a bit counter cultural these days as I notice the younger generations picking up a ‘if it’s broken, don’t bother fixing it just buy a new one’ mentality therefore walking away from situations that are so often redeemable, yet left broken. Many children are living in broken homes because relationships and marriages have not been invested in, because some think it is easier to start again elsewhere that fix what they already have. Life cannot and will not be hearts and flowers all the time. Times get tough, hard life choices have to be faced and sadly these days the being honest, open and vulnerable option from above, the run a mile option, is chosen because it is the easiest. But is it?
It’s not easy being a parent, no one ever said it would be. But we owe it to our children to be the best parents we can be. By investing in ourselves, our marriages and our relationships. By showing our children the ups and downs of life, by being vulnerable, by saying sorry, by sharing and celebrating the joy, but also sharing and celebrating the pain. Showing them that when tough times happen we can deal with them and try to fix them rather than walk away. It’s not about getting it right all the time, but it is about showing our children that nothing they could ever do would change how much we love them, how much we care.
It’s the kind of love that God has for you. He will always invest in you, always listen to you, always be there for you. You are not disposable, you are very precious to Him and totally redeemable. He sits with you in your sadness, your pain and in your joy. He invested everything in you the day He died on the cross for you. He wants you to be the best you can be, He wants to fix you, He wants you to be just like Jesus. Because He loves you x x x x x
No comments:
Post a Comment