As I walked along the trails one day, I clearly saw the journey of parenting.
You see, I was walking along and on both sides there were fences.
A little further along, one side only had a fence and the other side had none.
And then a little while later the trail no longer had fencing, just the path before me to follow along, if I chose to stay on it.
When our kids are young, it’s like being on the trail with the fences on both sides. Our kids are on a path, paved by our values, and are guided by the established guardrails we make to keep our kids well and on the path.
As they grow, it’s like being on the trail where there is a fence only on one side. On this part of our journey as parents, we continue to live out our values and establish guardrails but our kids have more independence, hence only one fence. This growing independence is a time for our kids to explore the path while they are with us and practice staying on the path and living out their values. And sometimes on this stretch of trail, our kids will choose to off-road. When they do, it’s an opportunity for us to process their choices with them, and once again, lead them back to the wisest path.
And then the day will come, or has come, when we step back and our kids step forward continuing on the path. Yet there are no longer established fences for them except the ones we have planted in their hearts through the years, and the values we have laid out for them. In this stretch of the journey, our kids get to establish their own guardrails and values, as we pray we’ve lead them well towards who God made them to be.
Parenting is a beautiful and hard journey. And the saving grace I turn to along the way to help me see my kids in a renewed way is that everyday I am to God who my kids are to me.
We are all children of God, given the freedoms to choose the path before us and establish the guardrails to help us stay on the path He has for us. Sometimes we follow it and sometimes we stray, but like any loving parent, God is there to come beside us and guide us back on the path, just like we are to our kids; no matter their age or where they are on the journey.
With love & hope,
Shawn