Leadership Minute: Picture Perfect Parenting
This morning on the way to work I was listening to a podcast and the following question was asked, “Is your family the picture you had in mind.”
That question got me thinking. Whether we admit it or not, we all hold pictures in our mind of how we think our family should look or how our family should “behave.”
Before I got married and had kids my picture looked like this: Dad’s in charge, we have morning devotions together before our breakfast, relaxing evenings together, we never eat fast food….you know…every morning our children wake up and call their parents blessed.
Well we soon all come to grips with reality and say, “that’s not us” but we (or maybe it’s just me) still feel an incredible pressure for it to be “us.”
The truth is, there is a degree of dysfunction in every family. After all, a family is merely a gathering of flawed human beings. So don’t buy into the myth that we have to make more lists, get more organized, spend more money, and never make mistakes in order to be successful parents. Unrealistic pictures paralyze parents. Remember….our role as mom or dad is not to impress our children with our ability to parent. Our role is to impress our children with the love and nature of God.
I love the following statement by Reggie Joiner, “The family exists, even in its imperfection, to display the heart of God to every generation.”
Instead of looking at your family and wanting a “Better Picture” – shift your thinking and look at the “Bigger Story.”
Brad Flurry 