The difference ONE word can make

Just the other day I was talking with a young mother.  She was exhausted with all the things that come with taking care of a baby.  She asked me to reassure her it gets better, easier.  My reply, “We usually don’t like to burst the bubble of younger moms, but I’ll tell you this:  the physical exhaustion doesn’t last forever but it does get replaced with emotional exhaustion.”  At least that’s been my experience.

Those of us in the midst of parenting teenagers and young adults know all about the hardness of our charge to do all we can to teach them correct principles, and then hope and pray they use everything we’ve taught them to live a good life, contribute to their world, and continually strengthen their testimonies.  It’s hard to teach them everything we want them to know.  It’s hard to do this day in and day out, especially when there’s pushback.  It’s hard to know when to step aside and let them truly use their agency.

Yes, all of these things are hard but… what if we changed “hard” to “important”?  It’s important to teach them everything we want them to know.  It’s important to do this day in and day out, especially when there’s pushback.  It’s important to know when to step aside and let them truly use their agency.

That paradigm-shift changes how I show up as a parent.  How about you?  What one word would make a difference in your parenting?