Before I had kids I was a great parent. Now as a Father of two girls I can tell you that I am neither a great parent nor an awful one. But few things have brought me to my knees like the challenges that arise in day-to-day parenting. Last week our oldest daughter Hannah was faced with a difficult decision. She came to my wife and I and wanted us to make a decision for her. And we could have too, if we would have had a clue of what that ‘right decision’ was!
But we yielded to our ignorance, encouraged Hannah to please God in whatever choice she made, and prayed with her for wisdom. Her choice is still pending but bottom line, this incident reminds me of how easy it is to make decisions for others as we try to insulate them from hurt. Yet it seems more important – and more difficult – that Hannah grapple with making a decision on her own. And as Parents, the compulsion to decide for our children is not unlike what the staff at the Mission faces everyday as broken folks look to us – all experts in parenting of course – for answers. So, just as God gives us choice – to follow Him or not – we must resist the urge to co-opt another’s choice when this process might be meant for their (and our) growth.
-Steve Brubaker, Director of Residential Ministries
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