Transparent Christian Magazine

It was the most humbling and positive comment a parent can hear. “We think you do a great job with your kids. As a matter of fact, we were talking the other day about how well behaved they are, and that out of all of our friends, you seem to consistently do things right…you and your wife are not afraid to parent your children.”

They made the comment after I had asked my kids to go into another room at our church because some folks were cleaning up and closing the main room. My 10 year old daughter threw me a quick and loud “why daddy?” and I responded calmly “honey, because I asked you to”. Her and her 7 year old brother walked, at a medium pace, to the other room. My daughter has learned that sometimes I’ll answer with an explanation immediately, and sometimes I’ll explain later, but I almost always explain my decisions to her. She also knows that I typically don’t get upset with questions. I’m a curious person by nature, and I think it is a sign of her intelligence that she wants to know ‘why’ instead of just blindly following—even when it’s her father trying to lead.

I was staring at my two friends…I blinked a few times, and soaked in those comments…I was speechless. (If you know me, THAT’s a mini-miracle.) I choked back a tear and choked up a “Thanks…” and told the two 20-somethings that being a parent is extremely hard, and that the rewards are incomprehensible, and I loved it.

And I’ve had my not-so-stellar moments. Like one night 3 years ago, when I was giving my (at the time) 4 year old son an earful about not listening and he stopped me cold with his reply…”I’M NOT DAMMIT!!!” Oh, trust me, my wife gave ME an earful for THAT one, and I deserved it…no good reason to swear at a 4 year old! If you haven’t figured it out already, he had apparently heard “Dammit Logan!” one too many times and he was reminding me exactly what his name was (just in case I forgot.)

There are plenty more stumbles, trips, falls, and ‘growing pains’ and I don’t get it right many times as an individual or a parent…

But I’m trying.

I read this scripture tonight…2 Peter 1:5-9 (The Message) So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.

This is a GREAT verse for a parent. It takes all of the above to raise kids.

Peter goes on to say…With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

Later that day I praised my kids for their behavior and told them what the women had said, and told them how proud I was of them.

I believe that God receives a very similar sense of pride when we do things that honor him…When we do things that obey his directing.

Feel free to question though, it is a sign of our intelligence. We don’t want to just blindly follow—even when it’s our father trying to lead.