Hard Lessons

My daughters have had to learn hard life lessons these past two weeks. Each of them have had  character issues we have had to work through.  I am never sure who cries harder or who learns more, my girls or me.

It seems like little daily kid infractions I can handle well. But when something comes up that is “big” I want to just fall apart. I begin to question everything about my parenting. “Have I been too hard?” “Have I been too lenient?” “Where did I go wrong?”, “What can I do differently?”

Giving me a week or so of prayer and time puts things into perspective. Yes, it was bad. Yes, consequences need to take place. But, grace and forgiveness are a part of the process as well. I tell my kids that no sin is too great for God (or mom) to forgive. Three are consequences to sin, and some consequences are more visible than others. Confessing their sin, bringing it out into the open is not easy. But, joy comes from being forgiven, no more hiding, no more fear of being caught.

My kids are not robots. They have wonderful minds and wills of their own. They are not sinless. They are human, just like me. It should not surprise me when their sinfulness rears its head. This is the process of growing up. Learning how to moderate their behavior, what consequences can or did occur, these are important lessons for life. If we do not go through these processes growing up, we can be blind sided as adults. But, I still don’t have to like going through these with my kids.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.