I went visiting teaching today. My friend taught me a wonderful lesson, and so I'm going to record it so I don't forget it!
She has three children--a boy and two girls--and she is expecting her fourth child in 2 months. She told me that she and husband were discussing all their worries about things that are out of their control. They talked about how sleepovers, playdates, activities--all of these seemingly innocent rites of passage have so many dangers connected with them. It can be overwhelming.
They decided that rather than obsess about how to protect their kids from everything--they would work to teach their children the skills necessary to be able to heal and overcome trials when they most certainly came.
She said that in this life, at this time in the world, it is unrealistic to think that you can protect your children from everything and that the best thing that they can do as parents is to prepare their children to be able to bounce back and grow from their hardships.
I was so inspired! Her words were so realistic and comforting.
Is the world going to hell in a handbasket? YES! But do we need to jump in that basket and fall down to hell with the rest of the world? NO!
Perhaps this is obvious, but it was so eye opening for me.
You might not be able to protect children from everything--but you can teach them to cope.
No comments:
Post a Comment