Fighting for the Relationship
Dear Friends,
There are many times in the life of a parent when we lose our cool and become more concerned with the rules of the house and the keeping of those rules than with the people who live in the house. There have been times when I have brought my daughter to tears over taking out the trash! Really? What was I thinking?
In this week’s chapter of
Parenting Beyond Your Capacity
we read, “Sometimes it is easy to forget that you can win the argument and force the right behavior but lose the heart in the process.” What the authors want us to wrestle with is how we create relationships of trust that teach our children we are part of a bigger story – God’s story – that we believe in and we will never abandon. And that means we will never abandon them!
When we are communicating with our children, sometimes we need to back up and look at the bigger picture. We are tempted to react to a moment – an incident – a snapshot in time that pushes our button – but we are invited to remember the love that we have for our child and the love that God has for us. Keeping our hearts and minds open to this love keeps us focused more clearly. “One of the most powerful things a parent can do is learn to communicate in a style that values the relationship.”
Join us Sunday evenings at 5:30 in the DCPC Parlor for
Parent’s Group
where we have space to share with one another, challenge one another, and join together in our journey of parenting. Hope to see you there!
To God be the Glory!
Robert
P.S. We need children in 11 a.m. worship this Sunday! Our Missionary visitors will be giving the Children’s Moment in worship and I really want them to have children there! If you are willing to be there – at least through the Children’s Moment I think it would be a great show of hospitality for them. Thanks for considering!
