Parenting.

Before I had kids I was sure I had a good idea about parenting. Now, as I type, my two boys are asleep in bed, my daughter is bouncing on my knee unsettled and tired and I am sure I don’t know enough about parenting.

Recently my Jon and I took some time out of looking after the kids in order to remember how we were to look after them. Eliza slept through our lunch date and the boys played with their Gran, as happy as can be. We talked about the paerents we had intended to be, the parents we were turning out to be, the parents we didn’t want to become and the parents we should be.

We have just had this excellent sermon series at Church, http://www.christchurchcentralsheffield.co.uk/bibletalks?series=77, on parenting, so we had somewhere to start. This was our summary.

We need to parent like God parents. 

That is really hard for us humans because we are not Him. Where God is slow to anger, I am quick. Where God forgives, I hold a grudge. Where God is patient, I am impatient. Where God loves unconditionally, I want someone to deserve or earn my affection.

So it has been a week since we retuned our thinking to our good God and we have not had any ‘success’ in parenting this week to make it all feel worth it. Our children are still sinful and troublesome as well as delightful and engaging, clever and fun. Its been good to be reminded that we don’t try to do the right thing for an easy life but out of trust in God that this really is the best way to live.