Good morning…
My husband and I recently received this group text from our college-aged son, in the middle of an ordinary day, in the middle of an ordinary week.
“I don’t say this enough to you guys but y’all really are the best parents anyone could ask for. I have always taken it for granted because I assumed that everyone’s parents treat their kids the way y’all treated us. But after talking with people in my fraternity and fellowship group about their pasts, most people went through divorce or had really strained, if not abusive, relationships with their parents, and now it’s really hard for them to love or understand God’s love. So thank you for being amazing parents to us, even though we don’t say it enough to y’all, just know that we love you.”
When our kids grow up and grow out of our home, every parent would love to someday receive a similar text, in the middle of an ordinary day, in the middle of an ordinary week.
Our twenty-one year old son is seeing through maturing eyes, eyes that have shed their first pair of rose colored glasses. As he listens to the stories of others, he is beginning to see different shades of human love. He is right, many young people have lived through divorce and strained, if not abusive, relationships with their parents. Once trapped inside a grown up body, we learn to conceal our childhood injuries, questioning “God, how could You love me flawed as I am, right here and right now?” Genuine love is much harder to receive when we soak up in our homes, with words and with deeds, with tones and with tension, “You are not good enough. You are a disappointment. You are unloveable.”
How challenging it can be to clear away the critical, old baggage to hear the constant whisper of our first and primary Parent. “You are mine. I love you unconditionally, wherever you’ve been, whatever you’ve done. I formed you in the womb and breathed into you My breath, inviting you to love and be loved by Me forever.” Whether children or teens, adults or parents, it is never too late to say “Yes, LORD, I surrender myself to Your life-giving love.” From God, we receive supernatural love to share freely with our family and our friends, our enemies and our selves.
But now, this is what the Lord says–he who created you…he who formed you… “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God…your Savior…you are precious and honored in my sight, and…I love you, Isaiah 43:1-4a (NIV),
Sue
