A - is to not "guilt" my children into doing what I want above what they want when our life plans do not coincide.
B - is to not throw manipulative temper tantrums, pouting parties, or screaming scenes whose objectives are actually to cause the guilt mentioned in item A above.
C - is to honor their freedom of choice as regards their lives as much as I have honored and enforced my own throughout my life.
D - is to support the relationships they enter into with their own spouses and children as the primary relationships of their life.
E - is to earnestly be involved in private prayer for their lives and their futures.
F - is to actively involve myself only as invited in the living of their lives.
In tandem with the gift of His Son, the greatest gift our Father gave us was the power of agency -- to choose and direct our own lives. As an earthly parent, I should do the same. In fact, I believe it is what He expects of me.
I am grateful to be married to a man who feels the same.
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3 comments:
Do you understand just how hard those items will be to carry out as the years go forward?
Print out this list and tattoo it on your forehead, backwards, so you can see it every time you look in the mirror.
Or you can always pray for muteness.
I figure making it a public statement will likely help since my kids read this and they'll hold my feet to the fire.
This is a good set of things to live by. It's hard when families grow older. We're trying to figure things out too on my dad's side - with no little kids running around, relatives actually have to talk and be friends :) I love your grateful lists too. You're great Karla--
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