Parenting and Engagement |
Jan 28, 2010 |
Wanting to be the best parent that I possibly can be, I know that I need to play a vital role in my child’s development. I can’t sit idly by expecting them to become something great if I am not active in their lives and providing opportunities for them to grow and develop.
It’s true that raising children can be difficult at times, but it’s not an option for me to say it is too difficult and to not even try. And it’s also not an option to take a sabbatical and let someone else assume my responsibilities that God has entrusted to me.
If my children are going to be all that I believe God has created them to be I must be active in their lives. I need to know each one of them individually. Each of them is different and has been given various talents, desires and abilities and I must provide opportunities (as best I can...and as God allows) for the development of these.
I didn’t wait until they were in high school to become an active parent. This was something I needed to do from the very first day we connected. I was there for them from the early days when they were first learning how to crawl, then to walk and eventually run. It wasn’t fun when they would trip and fall, but helping them to see that they could dust themselves off and try again was.
I made it a point to have sit down conversations with each of them every month just to check and see how they were doing. I wanted them to know that I intimately cared and was concerned that they knew that they could always come to me with any situation they faced (even the ones they got themselves into) and we would work and learn from it together. No matter how far off track they were, or how upset they may have been with me, we understood that we were family and we were in this together.
As I have taught our Engaged Champions workshop this month, I have seen so many parallels with our teaching that rings true with those champions God sends our organizations.
He sends each champion for a purpose (TG-10). If we are to help them become all that God has for them to be, we must realize that it all starts with us deciding we are going to be active in their development. It is our responsibility and it pleases the Father as we disciple those he entrusts to us. It is up to us to prepare and equip them so they can not only be found faithful, but fruitful to the cause He has mutually called us to.
My thought/prayer for today is that you would begin having conversations with each of your champions and get to know who they are and see the potential God has in store for them.
