by Pat Lamb (Author of Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com
Train up a child…
Who said that Parenting is Easy?
Someone recently told me that they had overheard some young girls say that they couldn’t wait until they were old enough to have a baby and drop out of school. How little they know about what parenting involves! There are those who think that having a baby is like having a doll. They don’t realize that the “live doll” will have many needs that must be fulfilled and that the “live doll” will not always be a pleasure.
Being a parent takes physical, spiritual, social, and mental strength. From the time a baby is born until parents can no longer function, parents muster up the strength to help their children.
A baby requires much physical energy from parents. Who has not seen a mom or dad with circles under the eyes from being up at night with a child. The hunger pangs of a baby do not know how to tell time. As the baby cries, mom or dad may be waiting impatiently for a bottle to warm. There are diapers to be changed, food to be prepared, laundry to be done, house to be cleaned, and other members of the family to be cared for. Parents may need to stand over a bed in the middle of the night where a fever-ridden child is lying and looking up to mommy or daddy to do something. I can remember sitting by our children during the night and rubbing legs as growing pains were occurring.
When a child starts to school, mom and dad are challenged to use social skills to help the child make the right friends. Parents must get along with other parents as well as the child’s teachers. There is still a great deal of physical energy required, but at least mom and dad get to sleep through the nigh most of the time. Mental abilities are challenged as parents help children with homework that often involves new methods of doing things.
As the child progresses into the tweens and teens, mom and dad discover that the sweet little baby that they thought would be perfect is not so perfect. Now, as never before, parents must rely on their spiritual strength to work with the child. Disappointments seem to come all too quickly as parents discover that the child does not think exactly as the parents do about certain things. “Who is this child?” they often wonder. “Is this the same sweet baby we fed and diapered in the middle of the night?”
When the child becomes an adult, parents are still parenting often from afar. We can’t “boss” anymore. We simply make suggestions for consideration. Even though we have “been there and done that”, our adult children may need to discover the truth for themselves.
Yes, parenting is not easy. I think of the old pioneer parents who often buried several children at one time after the children had suffered with smallpox or another deadly disease. I’m sure that many must have wondered, “Is it worth it?”
Parenting does, in spite of its many challenges, have many rewards. As I watched our children step up and take responsibility at the death of our second son, I was comforted to see them in action. I overheard our daughter say, “My two children are the best thing that ever happened to me!” It definitely is worth all the heartaches and effort involved when we see that our children have become responsible citizens who truly love their mom and dad, each other, and their families.