Hope for the future

 

Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

(1 Peter 1:13)

On any given day, I can be brought to tears by how awful we are and how badly we treat each other as the kids are grumbling about what is for dinner, or slugging it out over who touched whose things, or show immense ingratitude after a shopping trip. Then, moments later, I can be brought to tears in gratitude for how good and sweet life is when they choose to get along and do the right thing and serve each other.

I am learning to put my hope fully in Jesus, and not my parenting skills or the behavior of our children at any given moment.

Yesterday, we tried a new (yet old-school) discipline technique for sassiness (after checking with our pediatrician). The technique back-fired, and both of our disciplined kids were smirking because it was not as awful as we'd imagined. Back to the drawing board. Parenting each child is somewhat of an experiment.

We lean heavily on the hope that they will turn out as decent human beings with God's help and through no genius of our own. When they are awful, it is not our fault. And when they are wonderful, it has nothing to do with our parenting skills, blood, sweat, and tears. We do not know what to do but we rely on you!

(2 Chronicles 20:12)

Letting the kids decorate this year, and living with the less-than-perfect results. This is truly a growth step for me, although I may sneak behind them and rearrange a few things when they are sleeping!

Shhhhhhhhh.........