Window Seat

There is a brief window of time when children are dependent upon their parents, believing everything they say and wanting to please them. This season goes by quickly, so we must prepare for the years when they will naturally begin to seek independence.

All teens, for example, must test what they have been taught and own what they really believe. Maneuvering through this transition with wisdom and faith is essential to coming out the other end with your relationship still intact.

It is important to talk to your children about all kinds of subjects before they hit those teenage years and to develop a trusting relationship with them where they can confide their fears, thoughts, negative feelings, and even doubts about God. If they know that you will not react in fear or lay guilt on them, they will know that you are their ally and will probably still want to talk to you about the mysterious issues of teenage life.

If they think you will get mad, make fun of them, yell, or not understand, often they will seek the input of others, who may or may not share your values.

Even though they may seem to be pushing you away, teens need you to walk beside them every step, to be involved in their lives, and to protect them from unnecessary scars. They need your advice and guidance to help them make wise decisions.

His Promises

Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.