In reflecting on how I treat my children, I see a lot of my parents in me, things I did not know were there. I love cooking, hosting, entertaining - so does my mother. But those were not things I was comfortable with growing up. It is as if, in becoming a mother, I unconsciously dressed up in a familiar costume.
If we want our children to pray, first we must pray. If we want our children to be kind, gentle, polite, generous, we must lead the way. I think it is crucial to require good behavior of our children. If our children see us with the veneer of manners, but lying to get out of a committee we don't want to lead, 'You shall not lie' is ignored. The more I look at young adults and their parents, and ask questions of those young people, the more I am convinced the very hard work of raising our children requires us as mothers to be practical living witnesses.
Sincerely,
Beth
For about 2 decades now I have been noticing the same thing...young people (and myself) slowly turning into our parents. Gravity just pulls us in that direction. Thus, the better parents you have the better "default" setting you live your life on..the less you have to fight your own nature.
I consider my number 1 blessing the fact that I WANT to be like my father! And yes, this makes me want to be the kind of man I want my son to grow up to be.
Great post Beth!
Didymus
Posted by: Didymus | August 11, 2006 at 05:08 PM