Thoughts on being a Parent

I have been reflecting a lot this week on what it means to be a mother.  I have friends who have shared their experiences this week with miscarriages, early pregnancy, and another friend who shared about a serious injury to a seven week old baby that is 99.9% likely to be child abuse.  It has really had me reflecting on the sanctity of human life as well as the seeming injustice that those who want children and would be awesome and incredible parents are unable to have children biologically, and those who don't know how to care for their children and abuse them, seemingly have no problems getting pregnant.  Just because someone has the ability to  conceive a child does not automatically make them a good parent. There is more to being a parent than conceiving and giving birth.  I know many foster parents who are more of a parent to the foster kids in their home than are the birth parents of those children.  I am thankful for those that God calls to be foster parents and adoptive parents.  I hope that if you know someone who is an adoptive parent or foster parent that you take the time to thank them for their openness, compassion, and caring in volunteering to parent and care for someone else's child who may have behavioral, physical, or emotional issues as a result of abuse or neglect.  Make sure that you thank them for their patience, tender hearts, and ability to work with many ungrateful and difficult parents and children.

Honestly, being a parent is the hardest job in the world, but with the greatest rewards. There are days as a parent when I look at my daughter and marvel at the work God has done in creating such a unique child with her own unique gifts and abilities.  There are also days when I see more of myself in my daughter than I really want to!  Understand that there are many difficult and challenging moments, but those moments allow me to appreciate the wonderful hugs, kisses, drawings, cuddling, and pride in her achievements and growth as a human being.  I look at the teenagers that I work with in my job and see how much better those kids do with a little structure, boundaries, praise, and encouragement.  I hope as a parent that the structure, boundaries, and expectations that I set for my daughter help her to feel secure and loved enough to pursue her goals and dreams.  I hope that the morals and values that we teach her now will give her a foundation for the rest of her life.