This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up! where we write for 5 minutes with no editing, no over-thinking, and no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.
Many of us don’t remember when we were very small, when we were toddlers exploring and learning about the world. But we’ve all been there. We all learned one way or another not to touch the hot stove. Not to run with scissors. Not to place our hands on the door jamb as someone is closing the door. Ouch! Most of us had guides, or parents, showing us the way to avoid pain, injury and hurt. Lovingly telling us “No” when necessary. Expanding our boundaries ever so slightly as we grew so we could learn what it meant to be responsible for our own selves.
Most of us had parents who were our guides as we grew up. But not all of us did. I thankfully fell into the first group. But what about you? Were you part of the second group who had to fend for themselves? Who either didn’t have anyone to guide you into adulthood or had someone but you stubbornly didn’t listen to them – you had to learn everything the hard way? I think often about the chasm that exists between these two groups as I’m raising my four children, one of whom will be out of the house sooner than I had expected 18 years would go.
Our kids have been relatively easy, but we’ve definitely had some challenges along the way. The world would love to have me read this self-help book or that parenting book to gain ideas on how to guide my kids who would rather learn the hard way than listen to the wisdom we’ve gleaned in our 40+ years on this earth. Believe me, you don’t realize how dumb you are until you have teens in the house! I didn’t grow up receiving guidance from God or a church family at all, but in my 20’s I found the wisdom, forgiveness and salvation offered by both. My kids are growing up with faith as one of their guides and I wonder “Will it help them make better choices than I did when I was growing up?”
Even as adults, we still need guides. Wait…ESPECIALLY as adults, we still need guides!! Adulting is so very hard. We can look to God for wisdom, to those who’ve gone before us for advice, and to those around us for encouragement. We don’t need to keep touching the stove and burning our hand to learn what hot is and that we should be careful around it. Who is your guide and how can you listen to them better?
