A Pat on the Back

Encouragement. It’s one thing every parent needs. Whether we have a newborn or a graduating senior, we all need a pat on the back from time to time telling us we are doing a good job.

Unfortunately, through family and various media sources we can often be left feeling overwhelmed and confused. I wish I could tell you that there is a simple formula, and easy way to raise up a child in the way they should go…but in my 20 years of searching for such a thing I am remorse to tell you – it does not exist.

Parenting is a walk of faith like nothing else. It is one thing to be master of your own soul, but it is simply not possible to be master of anyone else’s. I remember telling David that when Daly Kay went to school for the first day, I felt like my left arm was walking around without me. Like my heart was outside my own body…and as they age, it only gets tougher. Day by day we must continually give them over to the Lord, and pray for guidance and wisdom as we walk this long journey that in the end seems to have sped by so fast. Enjoy every minute, even the rough ones, and each night forgive yourself for your mistakes, wake up renewed in the truth that the work the good Lord has begun in you, your children, your family–He will be faithful to complete it.

And let me be the one to pat you on the back today…you’re doing a good job. Keep marching.