Show notes
There is nothing that we can do to prepare ourselves for parenthood. We can have ideals, but we can’t predict what we will walk through. This isn’t going to be an episode about “how to be a parent” but rather, cultivating a healthy mindset around it.Parenting, in my opinion is one of, if not THE MOST important responsibility for the kingdom of God there is. The miracle of life is something that cannot be missed. The shear feat of a baby making it through birth is a miraculous blessing. Life is very fragile. We all enter adulthood with a variety of wounds from our childhood. For some of us, the wounds may be minor, like a parent’s voice that was raised too loudly, or a glance or comment that made us feel less than.These we can often recognize and learn how to move past and heal from them. On the other hand, some wounds may be deeply traumatic, maybe even hard to ever face. These often require much more time, possibly professional help, and extended healing time to recover from.But regardless of the wounds, the desire for us to work toward healing those wounds, and not instilling the same wounds on our own children is honorable and necessary.In the last episode of the podcast, Why You May Be Stuck and Complacent, I implore us all to keep our actual purpose at the forefront of all we do. That purpose can be found in Mark 12:28–31We are first called to love God with all our mind, body, and soul. Second, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. This is the guide for how to love and care for our children. We can’t love our Children well, if we aren’t loving ourselves well.Insert mind blown emoji.This is important to recognize because it goes back to what I refer to in the beginning. In order to show up well for our kids, we have to repair the areas of ourselves that are hard parts.It’s so easy to overcomplicate what it takes to provide for our children, from the environment of our homes, to the activities we engage them in, to the things we give them. The truth is that they just need to know us, and know that we love them.When we are purposeful about creating a home and example of God’s love, we gain so much clarity on what has a place in our lives, what doesn’t, and what wounds in ourselves we must take time to work on.Parenting is a relationship, we aren’t Moses giving a list of commandments and setting our kids loose in the promised land, we are walking hand in hand with our children as the Holy Spirit walks with us.And just as God loved Moses when he was leading God’s people through His doubts, we must understand that God is helping us through our’s too.We have to stay humble. “First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall” (Proverbs 16:18 MSG). We must recognize our need DAILY for Christ to lead us, and know when we must forgive others and ourselves. Don’t try to be a perfect parent. Try to be a present parent that is quick to ask for forgiveness and learns from mistakes. It’s a wild ride that is Christ appointed for you with your child. If your journey feels overwhelming right now, know that you’re normal! If you don’t have things figured out, welcome to the club! You’re in the right place. Let’s keep this conversation going! Please share and tag me with your thoughts. If you haven’t already, join the insiders group on Facebook by clicking here.Also, I wanted to give you a reminder about the Quick Start Guide for Living a Better, Bolder Life. As a certified coach, I’ve condensed my personal tools into this guide for you all surrounding mental, physical, and spiritual health. You can find it here. Check it out!