Skip to main content

Parents Are Not Responsible for That


Parenthood is not a role for wimps or whiners. There are the exciting times such as music recitals, sports tournaments, and graduations. But if your tribe is like ours, you've probably also had the maddening moments, like the time one of our children discovered how to unfasten the tapes on his diaper and used the contents as "chalk" on the bedroom  wall (yes, it was "his," so that narrows the field of suspects).

Children are young for a few blinks, and then we spin around and we're hearing "Pomp and Circumstance," that familiar graduation march as our "babies" walk down the aisle in cap and gown. If they choose to go on to college, four snaps later, we're sitting in the auditorium at their college graduation, scanning a long list of names in the commencement bulletin while waiting to watch them walk across the platform to receive yet another diploma. It's warp-speed fast (except that diaper stage).

Parents don't mind taking responsibility for the good things, but we may be too quick to take the blame for poor outcomes. There are no perfect parents, so we cannot engage in perfect parenting. There is also a flip side to that coin: there are no perfect children, so they cannot grow up into flawless adults.

Do you have a young adult who is making poor choices? You are not responsible for that. 

Has your young person decided that they don't really need God, let alone church? If they have determined that church is optional, you are not responsible for their choice. And if you're careful, you won't make matters worse by harping and needling them. Prayer works way better than nagging.

Has one of your adult children chosen to engage in an immoral relationship? Immorality may be popular in our culture, but you are not responsible for that.

Even though our parenting is faulty, it doesn't extend to the choices our children make as adults. We influence our children, but we do not enforce their adult choices. Certainly we can all think of decisions that we would change if we could hit a "delete" key for a do-over. I can't even count how many times I've thought, "So THIS is what I put my Mom through when I was a young adult..."

People make choices at every stage of life. Christian parents are responsible for teaching and training how to make wise choices, using the Bible as a foundation. We are also role models, which in many ways makes us "homeschool teachers" as our children watch how we handle the issues of life. "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways"  is basically a verse that says, "Watch how I do life."' (Proverbs 23:26) 

Our "Training Manual" is the Bible, and we have a responsibility to teach the precepts and principles, as well as how to apply them to daily living. And while we're at it, we must emphasize and magnify the Lord, and how He is worthy of glory, honor, and praise. We need to balance fear of the Lord with love of the Lord, not one without the other. Unfortunately, the best training still comes from flawed trainers (us), and does not equal an insurance policy against unwise choices.

In fact, sometimes young people from homes where parents invested the most have the strangest outcomes. It is so easy to take things for granted when a person doesn't comprehend the significance of their Christian heritage. A godly Christian home is a gift, but since gifts are free, value is often underestimated and extremely underrated.

When the Bible is abandoned and God is cast aside, people tend to carve out paths filled with potholes and lined with deep ditches. When they end up in the ditch, who do they usually call?

Mom. Sometimes Dad, but more often than not, Mom gets the call.

And what does Mom usually do?

She starts the rescue mission.

Here's another option: Hold that rescue effort and let your child take the Consequences-101 course in the University of Adversity. Consequences are side effects of choices, either good or bad. If we are constantly running ahead, throwing pillows down over the potholes, how will our young people ever experience the pain related to their decisions and develop an appetite for wise living? We need to commit our children to the Lord in daily prayer, no matter how they're living. He is not only better at loving them, but He also has the ability to direct and redirect their steps. And God is not floored by misbehavior. After all, He put up with us, didn't He?

God is the Master Trainer, and He knows which "life-classes" we need. In fact, Pain Education is a class that we all take on a rotating basis: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalm 119:71) The Scripture clearly tells us that affliction is a learning tool. Painful experiences due to poor decisions are tremendously educational, and they often serve to repel us from repeating similar mistakes.

Mom, please step aside and let the Lord provide the needed education in the life of your child.

Young adults are old enough to make choices, and if they are willing, they will also learn valuable lessons. Their direction in life is related to their decisions, just as it is for us. And if your child has a high pain tolerance, the process of learning to follow God may be slow. Cover your eyes, drop to your knees, and lift up your children in earnest, fervent prayer. Here are some valuable things to include in our prayers for our young people:
  • Pray for God's mercy: "Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word." (Psalm 119:41)
  • Pray for your child to gain understanding: "Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." (Psalm 119:34)
  • Pray for their eyes to be opened to the truth: "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." (Psalm 119:18)
  • Pray for God to "order their steps" and to free them from the bondage of sin: "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." (Psalm 119:133)
Love them. Train the as well as possible. Pray for them daily. Parents are responsible for that. 

But once they become adults, quit trying to fix them. That's not our area of expertise.
 
http://www.keeptheheart.com/subscribe.php





Comments

  1. Thank you,Francis! THANK YOU! ♡ This was so needed and a blessing to this mom-of-a-prodigal's heart! Beat myself up too often for my daughter's choices. Your writings have been a real help and encouragement through these tough times. God bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So what I needed today. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. From Helen B: This is exactly what I needed right here, right now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. From Barbara C: Wow, did that hit home. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. From Autumn M: Thank you so much for this devotion.

    ReplyDelete
  6. From Connie B: Wow, I needed this, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. From Barbara K: A very good blog-the Lord can reach them anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  8. From Wendy P: WOWZA I really needed that.thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. From Lisa S: This was exactly what I needed this morning! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. From Peggy A: Thank you so much for this. We had a wayward son, but by praying for him, God answered our prayers and he is back in church and serving the Lord. Now he is struggling with 2 teenage daughters.

    ReplyDelete
  11. From Carol N: The hard part is that we never quit being Mom and WE want to fix everything. One of the hardest lessons God had to teach me was to trust Him with my family. This blog is so good and helpful to all, thanks Francie for putting out what God wants us to hear and learn.

    ReplyDelete
  12. From Robin A: I'm so needed this. I'm in tears. Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. From Erin G: Thanks so much, needed this today! I was just talking to Austen and Jess about this Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  14. From Michelle I: Very true information!

    ReplyDelete
  15. From Monica D: Thank you, thank you for the encouragement!

    ReplyDelete
  16. From Dottie M: Thanks Francie Taylor ! Hard "mom" lesson to learn and follow.

    ReplyDelete
  17. From Terri C: Oh, yes, I needed that - really quite badly. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  18. From Angie H: Thank you Mrs Francie Taylor! I needed that.

    ReplyDelete
  19. From Cindy B: I am in tears reading this. This is exactly what I know to be true!

    ReplyDelete
  20. From Harriet B: Excellent article. Thanks for sharing. It is so hard not to take the blame when we see our children go astray and depart from the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  21. From Cindy G: Thank you for this devotion Mrs Francie Taylor.

    ReplyDelete
  22. From Denise L: Thank you very much for this.

    ReplyDelete
  23. From Wendy B: This is so good, my friend!! I am going to share!

    ReplyDelete
  24. From Gina S: Thank you, thank you THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  25. From Pam S: All I can say is Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  26. From Austen Taylor: I vaguely remember that moment that the picture shows...I see that Collin Taylor began eating already as usual during prayer. Lol! Love you, Mom! I know I'm far from perfect but the older I get the more I truly value what you instilled in me. The road is not easy and the enemy is relentless...but with the Lord's help, I hope to make you and Dad proud. Your labor has not been in vain with us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Three years later, I'm just seeing this comment from our son, Austen. His Dad my Norman is now in Heaven, but Austen delighted his Dad's heart, as he also does mine. Interesting what happens when I go back to read the archives...

      Delete
  27. From Judy V: Thank you for your words of wisdom.

    ReplyDelete
  28. From Audrey M: I enjoyed this also. The bible says train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. When you get married you take vows for better or worse sickness or health. When you have children it's for better or worse you can't disown them their yours. What exactly is a wayward child? I believe we all do what we think is best for them. We have learned that you have to listen no matter what their point of view is. The bible verse doesn't have an age so you wonder what is the age they come back once they departed. Everyone's view of depart is also different. We all have children and their raised the exact same and a lot of times they couldn't be more wonderfully different. There are many times you need to do a self check. Am I really worried about this or am I worried what others think. Lots of listening time and lots of praying time. Never say, "this is my house and you'll do what I say! They never chose their parents or where home was. When he is old he will not depart. There is no age mentioned because every child is very different and never give up dispite their age. I think there is no age mentioned because we're never to give up. Thank you Francie for the very good read.

    ReplyDelete
  29. From Angie S: you don't know how much I needed to hear this! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  30. From Francie: I am grateful if this is beneficial in any way. Thank you for reading the Blog, and for sharing it.
    "The Delivery Girl,"
    Francie
    Prov. 4:23

    ReplyDelete
  31. From Cindy L: Thank you for this devotion.
    Amen and Amen.

    ReplyDelete
  32. From Linda T: Francie Taylor you could not know my circumstance but God sirs and He used you to preen my eyes in a profound and difficult to hear way. I need this, not needed but actively need this message in my brain and my heart right now. Thank you God for using Francie.

    ReplyDelete
  33. From Melinda W: Thank you so much Francie Taylor! I so needed this!

    ReplyDelete
  34. From Carol T: An excellent and very needed article.

    ReplyDelete
  35. From Virginia P: We can't change the choices they make. Only God can change there heart. We have got to keep praying for them.

    ReplyDelete
  36. From Sandie S: Thanks for this my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  37. From Rhonda M: Thank you. Just need to keep reminding myself of this fact.

    ReplyDelete
  38. From Sharon C on FB: I hear your voice as I read this. I am not at this stage of life yet, but I'm sure the time will come in just a few blinks...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Just Happened?

I find myself praying in questions lately. "Lord, what just happened here?" (This time last month, we were walking a sandy beach in Florida, calling it our "last anniversary vacation.") "Did you REALLY take my Norman ALREADY ?" (I spent way too much time on Google, and all the articles said that Norman had a chance of surviving at least a year.) " LORD , are you SURE I can endure all this excruciating pain?" (I'm certain that I cannot bear this, but obviously, if I'm typing, I'm still bearing this somehow. Only God.) The last anniversary vacation Now here's what I do not want after you've read this: platitudes. Absolutely no platitudes. (Platitude: Overused statement applied liberally and repeatedly in an attempt to comfort or instruct. Paraphrased definition.) Example: "Heaven is getting sweeter." I understand that this is a phrase from a song, and it is not offensive in any way. It j

The Not Yets

We pray. We wait. We repeat. We pray. We wait. We repeat... What's on your waiting list of prayers? I call this my list of  Not Yets.   The waiting period of prayer is labor, and this labor builds strength. We may think that we would prefer to just have our answers without the strength-training, but God loves us too much to give us whatever we want.  It is possible for an adult to be just as spoiled as a toddler. Parents know what happens when they let toddlers have their way. It's chaos and crabbiness. We are grown up toddlers if we are only happy when things are going our way. Waiting and praying through some very uncomfortable situations is "wait training" at its best. We wait. We grow. We learn how to patiently endure, and then the next waiting period doesn't seem as hard. "Wait on the L ORD : be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the L ORD ." (Psalm 27:14) The list of Not Yets