When parenting pride bites you from behind
Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 03:45PM Do you ever wish you could go back and retract every prideful thing you have ever said? If we could, there would be a huge silence.
Some of the most prideful things I ever said were more to myself. They were the judgmental conclusions I made about other people's teenagers. And of course, these were uttered when my children were 12 and under. Oh how easy it is to parent teens from the armchair.
I wish I'd never said those things in my head. I wish I'd never thought them. What did I know back then? What do I know now, for that matter?
I've been on the other side of these things, having had teenagers. Teenagers have a way of humbling you, forcing you to your knees, teaching you dependence upon God, and that too much certainty can be a bad thing. Those were good lessons.
But I still wish I could go back and change things. It was a wrong attitude.
Reader Comments (4)
And what a manifestation our sincere repentance is of His grace at work in us. Be encouraged by that, my dear friend. It's what I see in you.
I'm with you on the teenager thing...a most humbling time in a parent's life. Love to you!
Me too Kim. I'm ashamed of how arrogant I used to be in my thinking. If I live to be 80 I wonder what I'll be regretting that I'm thinking right now. What a long suffering God we serve.
I just love you!
Thanks for your comments, ladies. You both bless me so much. Yes, we have a longsuffering God, and I think that's what I am supposed to learn, even if I do cringe when I look back.
I love this post. There's a true humility that comes from living out that old saying of "walking a mile in someone else's shoes." One of the best ways it's ever been said to me was this. "The key to wisdom, is the essential humility to reserve judgment until comprehension sets in." Ouch. That quote bites me repeatedly throughout life. And I'm thankful for it.