Parenting is not easy, it takes time, effort, patience, perseverance, humility, change in self and more. In short, parenting is a walk of personal sanctification.
My journey as a mother has been highly sanctifying. I have learnt to let go, forgive, not react but respond, be self-less as much as possible and many more which I cannot even recall right now. I am a changed person, motherhood has helped me.
Although I have learnt and changed so much over the years for the good, I find one thing true;I am always learning and changing. God shows me the areas that I need to work on, helps me see it from scripture and helps me make the change, for apart from Him, I would not even see the necessity for change!
Today was one such day, a day of learning. I was going about my day working on my task and listening to a podcast when the children were occupied with their tasks and I happened to be listening to the Calm Parenting podcast and this particular episode was about something that may save your relationship with your children. As I listened to this something caught my attention. The podcast host was talking about meeting the child halfway through when they are coming back to talk to you after a tantrum/ bad behavior. He went on to quote the Bible and talked about how the father of the prodigal son was waiting for his son, who had by the way taken his share of the property and gone away from his father. The father waited for his son, day after day, straining his eyes to see if his son would return, and on his return he went and met him even before he reached his father.
As I continued to go about the works of the day, this thought kept simmering the back burner of my brain. The Bible says regarding the father of the prodigal son, while he was still far away, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. I started questioning myself, do I look at my children with compassion? Do I walk the half path so that they can repent? Am I showing compassion to them? Am I walking the half way so that they have more room to come to me and talk about things and not shut down? What is my posture as I wait for their return? Am I eager to see them come back and start over? Am I making room for them to grow in compassion?
As I wrestled with these thoughts, one things is certain, I know the path that lays ahead for me, to change my posture as my children come back, to be more compassionate, to look at them with a heart of compassion and not anger. To walk the half way. To give them a safe place where they can come back and talk about their struggles.
May God give me and each one of you’ll reading this article, a heart of compassion, in the areas that you require.
