By Michelle | Leave A Comment
Your parents weren’t perfect. Chances are they were trying really hard to raise you. They probably hoped and prayed they would get it right. How many day time talk shows have you seen that bash a grown adult’s parents, laying out for the world to see every single thing they ever did wrong? In the child-free phase of my marriage, I used to watch those and take the side of the grown, disgruntled child almost every single time. Today, after being a Mommy for almost 11 years, I see things from a completely different perspective.
My parents are awesome. Not perfect. Just awesome. I am so grateful for their 39 years of marriage and all the things they did right to raise 4 children who are now loving, giving, caring people themselves.
Here are 10 things my parents did right. They…
•1. Taught me to work hard at everything I do
•2. Made the words of the Bible personal to me
•3. Showed me by their example the gift of giving time and love to the needy
•4. Stayed married and still love each other
•5. Mastered the art of loving 4 teenagers all at once
•6. Had an open plate policy. Friends were always welcome
•7. Made our house a place our friends wanted to be
•8. Taught me to lead others with humility and love
•9. Helped me figure out on my own not just the right thing, but the best thing to do
•10. To laugh at myself and always have a sense of humor.
I am far from a perfect parent. I am doing my best and hope that some of the things my parents did right, I am doing right.
What did you learn from your parents that you are doing right?
Michelle is trying to do an occasional right thing while raising 3 delightfully spirited little girls. Her husband is a pastor of a large church and their lives are anything but normal. Follow their adventures at Michelle Wegner
ABOUT Michelle
Michelle is mom to three spirited little girls, and her husband is a pastor of a large church. Their{read more}
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I completely agree with this. I don’t understand how people can bash their parents with such bitterness.
My dad abused us for years and people always told me I was nuts to still talk to him. Maybe I was. But he was still MY FATHER and the only one I get in this life. And although he had serious problems, he also did silly impressions to make us laugh. He worked two jobs to keep us fed. He told me I was smart. He taught us to be truthful.
It’s easy to play a victim’s role and blame our faults on our imperfect, human parents. But if you’re excused from your faults, shouldn’t your parents be excused from theirs as well?
They showed me what a true, loving, dedicated marriage looked like — sticking with it even through the hardest of times.
They taught us the importance of family time and making sure we keep in touch with extended relatives several times a year. Family reunions weren’t a dreaded thing for us!
They modeled how to live a Christ-like life daily — reading the Bible to us and in front of us, teaching us the words and meanings of timeless hymns, exhibiting faith.
I totally agree! None of us can help the kind of family we come from – we can’t choose our parents, the kind of people they are or the issues they have…but we can choose the way we (as adults) react to our circumstances and how those childhood experiences form our personalities as adults.
An example would be from my childhood. My mom had a knack for choosing the wrong man to be in her life. They were wrong for a lot of reasons…I could have used that experience to also seek out wrong men (it was what I knew, it was familiar, and I thought it was normal). I could have chosen to be in relationship after relationship with someone who treated me badly, and probably end up on one of those talk shows with too many kids from too many dads.
But I didn’t. I chose to NOT be like that. I learned from her mistakes, and chose to be with someone who supports me and loves me unconditionally.