Practice makes perfect? Hmm, let’s see…
A time to speak and a time to be silent….
I don’t have the definitive answer to this dilemma. I know when our children are young they need a lot of our guidance and input as mothers. But as they get older, what about then?
In my heart of hearts, I believe we need to be available to our growing children, but we need to let them work out things for themselves as much as possible, and be available to them as a sounding board.
That’s hard sometimes. Finding the balance between listening and inputting is a challenge. And yet, this is the balance we must learn to enable our children to grow into healthy, autonomous adults.
That’s perhaps a big reason I pray
I believe there is a GOD we can rely on. And I talk to Him. When I’m really bothered, confused, don’t know what to say as a parent, I tell Him about it. I wrestle with stuff with GOD, which helps me avoid making some mistakes with my son, while also keeping my blood pressure down:)
Who can we turn to?
There are some wise people, well-educated, well-informed, well-intentioned people we can read or watch on social media.
But most of all, we trust our gut! We trust our children to know their own needs. And we aim to discern, recognise and separate out the difference between what they want and what they need, and steer them down a path of moral responsibility and maturity in the fullness of time.
Silence is golden
We love, we encourage, we trust, and we say what is essential for our own sense of rightness, being aware that life is a journey to explore, and sometimes, many times, maybe most times, our silence is golden to our children’s ears.
Practice makes perfect
Certainly we make mistakes. But life is our journey just as it is our children’s. And we get a lot of practice which, ultimately, brings our perfection.
Every blessing:)