Parenting Part 2

It's not that hard to be a good parent, all you have to do is really LOVE your children.

So then we have to ask, is it that parents don't love their children? No it's just that love, real love is very hard, even toward someone whom you have brought into the world and have a responsibility to.

Whenever I think about love I think about the Cross, Jesus on the Cross. For those of you who had the privilege of seeing Mel Gibson's "Passion" if you equate the images there to love then you may have an understanding of why being a good parent is so hard, it's because love isn't easy; Love isn't meant to be fields of daisies, roses and petals.

Parents who have never ceased to love their children will find that their lives may have felt like a "living hell" emotionally and humanly speaking; but I want to believe that these parents understand the real greatness of being a parent.

Children often think that when their parents are "hard" on them, it means that they don't love them. Well kids, as you grow older you will understand that the parent who let their child do whatever they want is the parent that the child "all grown up" doesn't like very much. The child that had complete free reign can actually grow up and despise his parents for allowing that to happen.

As a grown adult you appreciate the "strictness" and the constant guidance we have received from the "hard" parent. We see the benefits; we are able to make the connections of all the training and discipline; we are able to see the value in having order in your life. All of these attitudes are born out of a child - who apparently "had it rough". In all of my history and those closest me, the individuals who I admire, respect and who have been successful in life holistically, are often those who "had it rough", those who had the strict parents.

I'm no expert on parenting, but I can't imagine how hard it can be, but I also could imagine the joy that a parent who has done it to the best of their ability can feel.

Parents! don't fail your children - be the best parent you can be and really LOVE your children.