Amazing Grace

"But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." ~Ephesians 4:17


I am really hard on myself about every little thing, I hate making mistakes, and to some extent I'm a perfectionist! As a result of this, I often reflect my expectations of myself upon my son. At times this has created a wedge between my son and I, especially now that he is a teenager and trying to discover his own identity. We often butt heads as most parents to with their teenagers. The closer he becomes to being an adult the more I panic and the more I find myself trying to control every little thing he does. But how can I expect him to discover who he is or figure what he likes if I'm trying to control him? He can't! So, I decided I needed to take a step back! I want to enjoy my son and not control him. Sometimes as parents we try to make our kids be what we want them to be but we can't. It's Gods job to do that. Since I've decided to take a step back, I've been able to enjoy him more, we've been able to enjoy each other more! If he makes a mistake or does something wrong, I don't jump down his back trying to get him to see the error in his ways. I take a step back, I let him process it on his own, and then bring it to me and we discuss it. Don't get me wrong, its not easy to do this because I always want him to make the right decisions but if he doesn't make the wrong ones, how can he learn the lessons he's supposed to learn about life? He can't! When you think about it, God is the same way when it comes to us. We are His children, He loves us, and doesn't want us to hurt, but as a parent He has to take a step back and let us figure it out on our own. He watches fall, make mistake after mistake until we've learned the lessons we're meant to learn. If it's hard for me to watch my one child make mistakes, I can't even imagine how hard it is for God! With each mistake we make, God extends us his grace, with each mistake I make, God extends me grace. As a parent its my responsibility to extend grace to my child as God has done for me time and time again. See if I just love him, parent him to the best of my ability, and extend him grace when needed, God will do the rest! I'm sure of this because God has done the same thing for you and I time and time again! The next time your in an uproar with your teenager or they've made the same mistake for the fiftieth time, just remember to extend a little grace as God has done for you a million times over!


"But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." ~Ephesians 4:17