Someone asked me how I stayed so level headed all the time. I laughed. It just so happened that the other day I had a come apart. My extroverted side had put too much on my plate for my introverted side, robbing my mom time, my quiet time, my stay at home and take care of my natives time. If it had been one day of busy I could have persevered but it had been months of doing so. At that moment I wanted to cancel all the things-that kind of come a part.
My extroverted daughter saw the threat to her social life and said to me, "Mom, I don't know if you need to go on a walk, take a break in your room or what but it would be good if you did."
I literally heard my words to her returning to me in this moment. I had a split second to choose whether to heed the advice I give or continue on the path I was.
Expect your children to mirror what you model. And to do so exponentially more than you have demonstrated. In this moment I was able to walk away, sit, cry, release and become level headed more quickly than if I had decided to argue with her.
There’s just a few things I want them to take away from this season. It’s not eating healthy food. It’s not working hard or organizing their school day. It’s not being a great friend and human. Although all of these things have merit.
The # 1 take away I want to see them know is the love YHWH has towards them and who they are. Performance based relationships are a thing of the past. We are each valued, loved and not one iota is of identity is dictated by a human being that could change their mind in a moment.
Add to that-
I want them to learn true forgiveness because we all need that. For ourselves. For others.
I want them to know how to have healthy, unselfish boundaries because we can be compassionate without being enablers (not good for anyone.)
I want them to honor brokenness as a place of healing.
I want them to live freely from their heart so that bottled up explosions don't come, so bitterness can not take root and because laughter is free medicine (and happens to be an antidote to overcoming trauma.)
This difficult but absolutely epic launching season won’t be their first go around with something hard life hands then. To expect less wouldn’t be reality. Let's build a foundation for our children by first addressing ourselves with mercy and truth in healing then extending that to them.
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