Friday, November 18, 2011

The Hard Truth

We will not be perfect parents. It's not something we want to hear but we will make mistakes with our children. And while we hope one day our children will, as the verse says, rise up and call us blessed, there will still be mistakes in there, things that could have been done differently.

Our own parents made mistakes. Some made more than others, but none of our parents were perfect, and neither are we. The only perfect parent is God. That's one reason why it's so important for our children to know Him, to have a relationship with their perfect Father in heaven, even more than their imperfect one on earth.

But our imperfections and our trials are what shape us. We often lose sight of that.

I look back on my childhood with fairly negative feelings. There were good points, but all in all, I generally have to hide or distort facts when I tell about myself as a child. This has been all too relevant as I have been responding with what I hope are encouraging ideas on Fruit in Season's 10 days of 'I wish I had known'. (http://fruitinseason.blogspot.com/ is the address, she has some great points and encouragment for homeschooling mums there). To make them encouraging I have had to leave bits out or even tell small white lies. The ideas are true and real but their sources are not always so, especially in relation to my mother. I hate that. I hate that I can't speak honestly about my childhood without bringing the mood down. I feel like I would be putting a bad face on homeschooling if I tell the truth. That I would discourage, rather than encourage. I feel like I am a bad result of homeschooling, though I known I would have been far worse in public school because of the severe bullying that happened.

But I am who I am today because of that childhood. I would be a very different person if they hadn't made mistakes. Now hopefully no one reading this will make mistakes in the magnitude of the ones my mother made, but you will make mistakes that will alter your childs future, and God will use them. It is through you making mistakes that God can recieve the glory. Through the unlikeliest of circumstances that God brings forth miracles, even small miracles.

Making mistakes with our children is not a good thing, but my point is, rather, that we will, no matter how hard we try, and that is when we see God's work in our children, he will use our weaknesses just as he uses our strengths. We need to accept that we are not perfect and ask him to show us His plan each day.

Take from this what you will, I'm not even sure I understand what I'm trying to say yet :) But God is trying to tell me something this week, whatever it is.

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