Watching your child go through their first dating relationship and break up is scary and messy stuff at best. Everything in you knows this is not going to end well. So few people marry out of high school and those that do, don't tend to stay married.
But the emotions are so strong and depending on the child, sometimes all you can do is be there when the train runs off the track. Recently, one of my kids had a break up and since then has been playing and singing a Bruno Mars song on the piano. In his defense, he says he just likes the song, but it's hard not to notice how he sings it and the parts he tends to emphasize. I'm just saying.
Awhile back we had another break up that ended very badly with a different child. There was a lot of pain and hurt and anger and we were parents on a bucking bronco. But we can see the fruit of it now. It seemed far too painful at the time and yet you can see how God has used it for good. She is simply wiser for the suffering. I don't like that path of training, but it does seem effective though painful for everyone involved, including us.
My husband and I find it funny how different our kids are compared to each other. Two are into dating and two are not. My girls are polar opposites of each other as are my boys. Two of them seem enchanted by the world, and two not so much. Two connect easily with Jesus and two are working on it. But they all grew up here in this house together and yet we can already see how God is planning different paths for each of them. I stand in awe of it as I see it unfold.
So parenting more and more feels like checking in, offering encouragement, having fun, being spontaneous and comforting their broken hearts. Their lives seem to be the teachers now, not so much me anymore. I am a bit sad about that, but it also seems like an important step in their growth. Life is my teacher too and Jesus is my encourager and comforter. He is my strength in time of weakness. He is my refuge and my strong tower too.
As I love my kids through life's education, my hope is they will begin to attach more and more to the author and perfector of their faith, Jesus, because my time with them is coming to a close. I hope to be here for a long time, but they will start being somewhere else soon and yet Jesus will always be with them. If they are each able to make that leap (of faith) as they leave home,then I will be confident of Another Homeschool Success Story.
