No Matter What….

Today is my daughter’s 17th birthday….and I have a lot on my heart today.

As I sent her off to school…yeah, she was moody….and its that time of the month for her (but it sometimes feels like its always that time of the month with a teenage girl in the house, can I get an amen?) Lol…BUT, at the same time, I could tell there was more going on in that heart of hers than just it being that time of the month.

I was happy to get all 3 of my girls out the door so I could breath deeply.

A lot of mornings are like this lately. Once I had a little of my space, I sent her a text telling her how wonderful and valuable she is, that she was uniquely and intricately formed in her mothers womb (well, mine…it just felt weird to say it the other way) and she is made in the image of her Heavenly Father and that makes her pretty darn special. I told her I am so proud of her and how much I love her.

She texted me back a little while later thanking me and letting me know how much that meant to her.

We all know its not easy to be a teenager. Period. It’s especially not easy being a teenager in this current generation.

I just got to thinking that its so easy to rag on the “teenagers now days” I mean, has anything really changed? I think it’s always been the attitude of “these teenagers these days…” (said in a disgruntled tone) And they feel that attitude from the adults…and as a sidetone….the real saying should be “these parents these days”

How much more joy and hope would we see in the “teenagers these days” if instead of ragging about all the things they do wrong, we spoke LIFE instead? Do our kids REALLY know how valuable they are? Do they REALLY know we have their back even if they go a different route than we envisioned for them?

So what if they don’t want to go to the college we want them to attend or what if they don’t want to go to college at all? What if they get married “too young” or what if they decide they don’t ever want to get married? Yeah, so what if they come home with a tattoo sleeve down their arm or that piercing in their nostrils? (Whew, breath, just breath) Will they know they aren’t a dissapointment to you if they don’t want to work the family business that you spent so much time building?

Do they know we have their back no matter what? Do they know we are their biggest cheerleaders and ALWAYS will be?

Now, I’m not talking about sinful choices they could be making that take them down a dark path..(and yes, they need to know how much we love them even more if they are making wrong choices) but I’m saying specifically so often we have dreams and desires for our kids but that’s not what is in their heart.

They need to know that no matter what, we are here for them and we will always love them. They need to know we are not disappointed with them, even if they make a choice we don’t agree with….they need to know we love them and have their back especially when they make a mistake.

This is what our Heavenly Father does with us. He gave up EVERYTHING for us when we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)

If I am stepping on anyone’s toes, I am stepping on mine too.

As parents, we feel so responsible for our children. But what if our main job is to simply teach them how loved they are….no matter what.

You know what I think? I think we would see our children rise to the occasion and walk out the calling that God has for them. I think we would see them less stressed, I think we would see them laugh a lot more, I think we would experience them feeling free to talk to us about their struggles instead of hiding what they are going through.

Teenagers don’t want to be a disappointment to their parents. I mean, At the core of all OUR being, we all just want to know that we are loved and accepted….no matter what.

Let me know any thoughts, questions, concerns, or amens you may have!

Peace and Blessings,

CharMomma